Plants Having Enhanced Yield-Related Traits and a Method for Making the Same

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates generally to the field of molecular biology and concerns a method for enhancing various economically important yield-related traits in plants. More specifically, the present invention concerns a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants by modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a Harpin-associated Factor G polypeptide (hereinafter termed HpaG”). The present invention also concerns plants having modulated expression of a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide, which plants have enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants. The invention also provides constructs comprising HpaG-encoding nucleic acids, useful in performing the methods of the invention. The present invention also provides a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants relative to control plants, by modulating (preferably increasing) expression in a plant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWITCH 2/SUCROSE NON-FERMENTING 2 (SWI2/SNF2) polypeptide. The present invention also concerns plants having modulated expression of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide, which plants have enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants. The invention also provides constructs useful in performing the methods of the invention.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/528,809, filed Nov. 10, 2009, which is a national stage application (under 35 U.S.C. §371) of PCT/EP2008/052450, filed Feb. 28, 2008, which claims benefit of European Application 07103271.8, filed Feb. 28, 2007, European Application 07104197.4 filed on Mar. 15, 2007, U.S. Provisional Application 60/896,050 filed on Mar. 21, 2007 and U.S. Provisional Application 60/909,510 filed on Apr. 2, 2007, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in this application.

SUBMISSION OF SEQUENCE LISTING

The Sequence Listing associated with this application is filed in electronic format via EFS-Web and hereby incorporated by reference into the specification in its entirety. The name of the text file containing the Sequence Listing is Sequence_Listing_(—)32279_(—)00058_US. The size of the text file is 509 KB, and the text file was created on Apr. 11, 2013.

The present invention relates generally to the field of molecular biology and concerns a method for enhancing various economically important yield-related traits in plants. More specifically, the present invention concerns a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants by modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a Harpin-associated Factor G polypeptide (hereinafter termed “HpaG”). The present invention also concerns plants having modulated expression of a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide, which plants have enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants. The invention also provides constructs comprising HpaG-encoding nucleic acids, useful in performing the methods of the invention. The present invention also provides a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants relative to control plants, by modulating (preferably increasing) expression in a plant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWITCH 2/SUCROSE NON-FERMENTING 2 (SWI2/SNF2) polypeptide. The present invention also concerns plants having modulated expression of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide, which plants have enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants. The invention also provides constructs useful in performing the methods of the invention.

The ever-increasing world population and the dwindling supply of arable land available for agriculture fuels research towards increasing the efficiency of agriculture. Conventional means for crop and horticultural improvements utilise selective breeding techniques to identify plants having desirable characteristics. However, such selective breeding techniques have several drawbacks, namely that these techniques are typically labour intensive and result in plants that often contain heterogeneous genetic components that may not always result in the desirable trait being passed on from parent plants. Advances in molecular biology have allowed mankind to modify the germplasm of animals and plants. Genetic engineering of plants entails the isolation and manipulation of genetic material (typically in the form of DNA or RNA) and the subsequent introduction of that genetic material into a plant. Such technology has the capacity to deliver crops or plants having various improved economic, agronomic or horticultural traits.

A trait of particular economic interest is increased yield. Yield is normally defined as the measurable produce of economic value from a crop. This may be defined in terms of quantity and/or quality. Yield is directly dependent on several factors, for example, the number and size of the organs, plant architecture (for example, the number of branches), seed production, leaf senescence and more. Root development, nutrient uptake, stress tolerance and early vigour may also be important factors in determining yield. Optimizing the above-mentioned factors may therefore contribute to increasing crop yield.

Seed yield is a particularly important trait, since the seeds of many plants are important for human and animal nutrition. Crops such as, corn, rice, wheat, canola and soybean account for over half the total human caloric intake, whether through direct consumption of the seeds themselves or through consumption of meat products raised on processed seeds. They are also a source of sugars, oils and many kinds of metabolites used in industrial processes. Seeds contain an embryo (the source of new shoots and roots) and an endosperm (the source of nutrients for embryo growth during germination and during early growth of seedlings). The development of a seed involves many genes, and requires the transfer of metabolites from the roots, leaves and stems into the growing seed. The endosperm, in particular, assimilates the metabolic precursors of carbohydrates, oils and proteins and synthesizes them into storage macromolecules to fill out the grain.

Harvest index, the ratio of seed yield to aboveground dry weight, is relatively stable under many environmental conditions and so a robust correlation between plant size and grain yield can often be obtained (e.g. Rebetzke et al. (2002) Crop Science 42:739). These processes are intrinsically linked because the majority of grain biomass is dependent on current or stored photosynthetic productivity by the leaves and stem of the plant (Gardener et al. (1985) Physiology of Crop Plants. Iowa State University Press, pp 68-73). Therefore, selecting for plant size, even at early stages of development, has been used as an indicator for future potential yield (e.g. Tittonell et al. (2005) Agric Ecosys & Environ 105: 213). When testing for the impact of genetic differences on stress tolerance, the ability to standardize soil properties, temperature, water and nutrient availability and light intensity is an intrinsic advantage of greenhouse or plant growth chamber environments compared to the field. However, artificial limitations on yield due to poor pollination due to the absence of wind or insects, or insufficient space for mature root or canopy growth, can restrict the use of these controlled environments for testing yield differences. Therefore, measurements of plant size in early development, under standardized conditions in a growth chamber or greenhouse, are standard practices to provide indication of potential genetic yield advantages.

Another trait of particular economic interest is that of enhanced yield-related traits of plants grown under abiotic stress conditions. Abiotic stress is a primary cause of crop loss worldwide, reducing average yields for most major crop plants by more than 50% (Wang et al., Planta (2003) 218: 1-14). Abiotic stresses may be caused by drought, salinity, temperature extremes, chemical toxicity and oxidative stress. The ability to enhance yield-related traits in plants grown under abiotic stress conditions would be of great economic advantage to farmers worldwide and would allow for the cultivation of crops during adverse conditions and in territories where cultivation of crops may not otherwise be possible.

The ability to increase plant yield would have many applications in areas such as agriculture, including in the production of ornamental plants, arboriculture, horticulture and forestry. Increasing yield may also find use in the production of algae for use in bioreactors (for the biotechnological production of substances such as pharmaceuticals, antibodies or vaccines, or for the bioconversion of organic waste) and other such areas.

BACKGROUND

I. Harpin

The Type III Secretion System (TTSS) is an exporting machinery specific for Gram-negative bacteria and is found among plant and animal pathogens, but also in endosymbiotic Rhizobia. TTSS is postulated to deliver proteins into the host cell to which the bacterium is associated. In plant pathogenic bacteria, the TTSS is a cluster of hypersensitive response and pathogenicity genes comprising about 20 genes, the Hrp cluster. Nine of these genes (the harpin conserved or hrc) are conserved among both plant and animal pathogens, eight of them share homology with genes encoding the flagella apparatus (Bogdanove et al., Mol. Microbiol. 20, 681-683, 1996), the ninth, hrcC, is homologous to the GSP outer membrane secretins (Deng and Huang, J. Bacteriol. 180, 4523-4531, 1999). The hpa (hrp-associated) genes contribute to pathogenicity and to the induction of the hypersensitive response (HR) in nonhost plants, but are not essential for the pathogenic interactions of bacteria with plants. The flagella apparatus and the TTSS are postulated to be evolved from a common origin (Gophna et al., Gene 312, 151-163, 2003); the TTSS has furthermore spread among evolutionary distant bacterial species via multiple horizontal-transfer events (Nguyen et al., J. Mol. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2, 125-144, 2000).

Many gram-negative plant-pathogenic bacteria possess two sets of genes that modulate their interactions with plants. The avirulence genes determine host specificity based on gene-for gene interactions, and the hrp (hypersensitive reaction and pathogenicity) genes are involved in pathogenicity and the induction of hypersensitive responses (HR) in nonhost plants. The HR is a highly localized plant cell death that occurs when non-host plants or resistant cultivars of host plants are infiltrated with the plant pathogen or HR elicitor molecules, such as Avr proteins and harpins. The HR is thought be a resistance reaction of plants to microbial pathogens.

Harpins are a group of HR elicitors that are secreted by the type III secretion pathway (TTSS) and elicit HR when infiltrated into the apoplast of leaves of non-host plants. Unlike Avr proteins, which must be delivered inside the cell to exert their functions, harpins can elicit HR when delivered to the intercellular space of plant cells. Since the first harpin, HrpN, was identified from Erwinia amylovora, many harpins have been reported from various species, including Pseudomonas, Ralstonia, and Xanthomonas. Harpins are glycine-rich, heat stable proteins, lacking cysteine, and are postulated to be present in all plant pathogenic bacteria having a TTSS (Alfano and Colmer, Annu. Rev. Phytopathol. 42, 385-414, 2004). The biochemical mechanism of HR elicitation by harpins in non-host plants remains unclear. HrpZ of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae associates with the cell walls rather than the membranes of plant cells, and the protein elicits no response from protoplasts, which lack walls (Hoyos et al. Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 9, 608-616, 1996). However, HrpZ of P. syringae pv. phaseolicola binds to lipid bilayers and forms an ion-conducting pore (Lee et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98, 289-294, 2001). The N-terminal 109 amino acids and the C-terminal 216 amino acids of HrpZ are able to elicit HR to a level similar to full-length HrpZ (Alfano et al., Mol. Microbiol. 19, 715-728, 1996). Kim et al. and Charkowski et al. showed that the HrpW harpins of E. amylovora and P. syringae pv. tomato are composed of two domains—the N-terminal harpin domain and C-terminal Pel (pectate lyase) domain—and proposed that HrpW acts in the cell wall (Charkowski et al., J. Bacteriol. 180, 5211-5217, 1998; Kim and Beer, J. Bacteriol. 180, 5203-5210, 1998).

Besides harpins, the TTSS cluster in bacteria may also include genes encoding Harpin associated Factors. HpaG polypeptides are smaller than harpins, and they share little sequence homology. These sequence differences with harpins are postulated to contribute to the difference in the ability to elicit HR in plants between HpaG polypeptides and harpins (Kim et al., J. Bacteriol. 186, 6239-6247, 2004)

Korean patent application KR20030068302 discloses the Xanthomonas HpaG protein, which, when applied to plants or plant seeds, confers disease resistance, in particular resistance to Xanthomonas axonopodis infection. Harpin associated Factors have been used to confer disease resistance in plants; and as a result of this biotic stress resistance, plants had better yield compared to the control plants under biotic stress conditions.

Surprisingly it has now been found that modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a Harpin-associated Factor G polypeptide (HpaG) give plants enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plant. These enhanced yield-related traits were obtained in plants that were not exposed to stress.

II. SNF2

The present invention concerns a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants relative to control plants by increasing expression in a plant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWITCH 2/SUCROSE NON-FERMENTING 2 (SWI2/SNF2) polypeptide.

Many chromosome-associated cellular processes, such as replication, transcription, DNA repair, or recombination, require accessible DNA. To deal with these events, cells possess activities that can remodel chromatin in eukaryotes or disrupt other DNA:protein complexes in both pro- and eukaryotes, using ATP hydrolysis. One of the best-studied examples of these activities is carried out by the SWI2/SNF2 family of ATPases, a large group of proteins implicated in many different remodeling-like processes.

SWI2/SNF2 family proteins are ubiquitous, as they are found in bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. They have recently been classified into 24 distinct subfamilies, after multiple sequence alignment of the SWI2/SNF2 ATPase domain comprising the seven conserved sequence motifs (I, Ia, II, III, IV, V, and VI) (Flaus et al. (2006) Nucleic Acids Res. 2006; 34 (10): 2887-2905). These subfamilies have traditionally taken the name of the archetypal member. One subfamily is named SSO1653, after the sole SWI2/SNF2 family member in archaeal Sulfolobus solfataricus (Flaus et al., supra; Duur et al. (2005) Cell 121 (3): 363-373), the uniquely archaeal and eubacterial subfamily most similar to the eukaryotic SWI2/SNF2 proteins. The SSO1653 subfamily carries all the SWI2/SNF2 family sequence and structural hallmarks.

US patent application US2003/233670 describes polynucleotides and proteins encoded by the polynucleotides. SEQ ID NO: 125 is a polynucleotide sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide of the SSO1653 subfamily from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. US patent application US2005/108791 describes 24149 nucleic acid and polypeptide sequences, among which a nucleic acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 57 encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide of the SSO1653 subfamily from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, as represented by SEQ ID NO: 396.

Surprisingly, it has now been found that increasing expression in a plant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide gives plants having enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants.

DEFINITIONS

Polypeptide(s)/Protein(s)

The terms “polypeptide” and “protein” are used interchangeably herein and refer to amino acids in a polymeric form of any length.

Polynucleotide(s)/Nucleic Acid(s)/Nucleic Acid Sequence(s)/Nucleotide Sequence(s)

The terms “polynucleotide(s)”, “nucleic acid sequence(s)”, “nucleotide sequence(s)” are used interchangeably herein and refer to nucleotides, either ribonucleotides or deoxyribonucleotides or a combination of both, in a polymeric form of any length.

Control Plant(s)

The choice of suitable control plants is a routine part of an experimental setup and may include corresponding wild type plants or corresponding plants without the gene of interest. The control plant is typically of the same plant species or even of the same variety as the plant to be assessed. The control plant may also be a nullizygote of the plant to be assessed. A “control plant” as used herein refers not only to whole plants, but also to plant parts, including seeds and seed parts.

Homologue(s)

“Homologues” of a protein encompass peptides, oligopeptides, polypeptides, proteins and enzymes having amino acid substitutions, deletions and/or insertions relative to the unmodified protein in question and having similar biological and functional activity as the unmodified protein from which they are derived.

A deletion refers to removal of one or more amino acids from a protein.

An insertion refers to one or more amino acid residues being introduced into a predetermined site in a protein. Insertions may comprise N-terminal and/or C-terminal fusions as well as intra-sequence insertions of single or multiple amino acids. Generally, insertions within the amino acid sequence will be smaller than N- or C-terminal fusions, of the order of about 1 to 10 residues. Examples of N- or C-terminal fusion proteins or peptides include the binding domain or activation domain of a transcriptional activator as used in the yeast two-hybrid system, phage coat proteins, (histidine)-6-tag, glutathione S-transferase-tag, protein A, maltose-binding protein, dihydrofolate reductase, Tag•100 epitope, c-myc epitope, FLAG®-epitope, lacZ, CMP (calmodulin-binding peptide), HA epitope, protein C epitope and VSV epitope.

A substitution refers to replacement of amino acids of the protein with other amino acids having similar properties (such as similar hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, antigenicity, propensity to form or break α-helical structures or β-sheet structures). Amino acid substitutions are typically of single residues, but may be clustered depending upon functional constraints placed upon the polypeptide; insertions will usually be of the order of about 1 to 10 amino acid residues. The amino acid substitutions are preferably conservative amino acid substitutions. Conservative substitution tables are well known in the art (see for example Creighton (1984) Proteins. W.H. Freeman and Company and Table 1 below).

TABLE 1 Examples of conserved amino acid substitutions Conservative Residue Conservative Substitutions Residue Substitutions Ala Ser Leu Ile; Val Arg Lys Lys Arg; Gln Asn Gln; His Met Leu; Ile Asp Glu Phe Met; Leu; Tyr Gln Asn Ser Thr; Gly Cys Ser Thr Ser; Val Glu Asp Trp Tyr Gly Pro Tyr Trp; Phe His Asn; Gln Val Ile; Leu Ile Leu, Val

Amino acid substitutions, deletions and/or insertions may readily be made using peptide synthetic techniques well known in the art, such as solid phase peptide synthesis and the like, or by recombinant DNA manipulation. Methods for the manipulation of DNA sequences to produce substitution, insertion or deletion variants of a protein are well known in the art. For example, techniques for making substitution mutations at predetermined sites in DNA are well known to those skilled in the art and include M13 mutagenesis, T7-Gen in vitro mutagenesis (USB, Cleveland, Ohio), QuickChange Site Directed mutagenesis (Stratagene, San Diego, Calif.), PCR-mediated site-directed mutagenesis or other site-directed mutagenesis protocols.

Derivatives

“Derivatives” include peptides, oligopeptides, polypeptides which may, compared to the amino acid sequence of the naturally-occurring form of the protein, such as the one presented in SEQ ID NO: 2, comprise substitutions of amino acids with non-naturally occurring amino acid residues, or additions of non-naturally occurring amino acid residues. “Derivatives” of a protein also encompass peptides, oligopeptides, polypeptides which comprise naturally occurring altered (glycosylated, acylated, prenylated, phosphorylated, myristoylated, sulphated etc.) or non-naturally altered amino acid residues compared to the amino acid sequence of a naturally-occurring form of the polypeptide. A derivative may also comprise one or more non-amino acid substituents or additions compared to the amino acid sequence from which it is derived, for example a reporter molecule or other ligand, covalently or non-covalently bound to the amino acid sequence, such as a reporter molecule which is bound to facilitate its detection, and non-naturally occurring amino acid residues relative to the amino acid sequence of a naturally-occurring protein.

Orthologue(s)/Paralogue(s)

Orthologues and paralogues encompass evolutionary concepts used to describe the ancestral relationships of genes. Paralogues are genes within the same species that have originated through duplication of an ancestral gene and orthologues are genes from different organisms that have originated through speciation.

Domain

The term “domain” refers to a set of amino acids conserved at specific positions along an alignment of sequences of evolutionarily related proteins. While amino acids at other positions can vary between homologues, amino acids that are highly conserved at specific positions indicate amino acids that are likely essential in the structure, stability or activity of a protein.

Identified by their high degree of conservation in aligned sequences of a family of protein homologues, they can be used as identifiers to determine if any polypeptide in question belongs to a previously identified polypeptide family.

Motif/Consensus Sequence/Signature

The term “motif” or “consensus sequence” or “signature” refers to a short conserved region in the sequence of evolutionarily related proteins. Motifs are frequently highly conserved parts of domains, but may also include only part of the domain, or be located outside of conserved domain (if all of the amino acids of the motif fall outside of a defined domain).

Hybridisation

The term “hybridisation” as defined herein is a process wherein substantially homologous complementary nucleotide sequences anneal to each other. The hybridisation process can occur entirely in solution, i.e. both complementary nucleic acids are in solution. The hybridisation process can also occur with one of the complementary nucleic acids immobilised to a matrix such as magnetic beads, Sepharose beads or any other resin. The hybridisation process can furthermore occur with one of the complementary nucleic acids immobilised to a solid support such as a nitro-cellulose or nylon membrane or immobilised by e.g. photolithography to, for example, a siliceous glass support (the latter known as nucleic acid arrays or microarrays or as nucleic acid chips). In order to allow hybridisation to occur, the nucleic acid molecules are generally thermally or chemically denatured to melt a double strand into two single strands and/or to remove hairpins or other secondary structures from single stranded nucleic acids.

The term “stringency” refers to the conditions under which a hybridisation takes place. The stringency of hybridisation is influenced by conditions such as temperature, salt concentration, ionic strength and hybridisation buffer composition. Generally, low stringency conditions are selected to be about 30° C. lower than the thermal melting point (Tm) for the specific sequence at a defined ionic strength and pH. Medium stringency conditions are when the temperature is 20° C. below Tm, and high stringency conditions are when the temperature is 10° C. below Tm. High stringency hybridisation conditions are typically used for isolating hybridising sequences that have high sequence similarity to the target nucleic acid sequence. However, nucleic acids may deviate in sequence and still encode a substantially identical polypeptide, due to the degeneracy of the genetic code. Therefore medium stringency hybridisation conditions may sometimes be needed to identify such nucleic acid molecules.

The Tm is the temperature under defined ionic strength and pH, at which 50% of the target sequence hybridises to a perfectly matched probe. The Tm is dependent upon the solution conditions and the base composition and length of the probe. For example, longer sequences hybridise specifically at higher temperatures. The maximum rate of hybridisation is obtained from about 16° C. up to 32° C. below Tm. The presence of monovalent cations in the hybridisation solution reduce the electrostatic repulsion between the two nucleic acid strands thereby promoting hybrid formation; this effect is visible for sodium concentrations of up to 0.4M (for higher concentrations, this effect may be ignored). Formamide reduces the melting temperature of DNA-DNA and DNA-RNA duplexes with 0.6 to 0.7° C. for each percent formamide, and addition of 50% formamide allows hybridisation to be performed at 30 to 45° C., though the rate of hybridisation will be lowered. Base pair mismatches reduce the hybridisation rate and the thermal stability of the duplexes. On average and for large probes, the Tm decreases about 1° C. per % base mismatch. The Tm may be calculated using the following equations, depending on the types of hybrids:

1) DNA-DNA hybrids (Meinkoth and Wahl, Anal. Biochem., 138: 267-284, 1984):

Tm=81.5° C.+16.6×log 10[Na⁺]^(a)+0.41×%[G/C^(b)]−500×[L^(c)]−1−0.61×% formamide

2) DNA-RNA or RNA-RNA hybrids:

Tm=79.8+18.5(log₁₀[Na⁺]^(a))+0.58(% G/C^(b))+11.8(% G/C^(b))2−820/L^(c)

3) oligo-DNA or oligo-RNA^(d) hybrids:

For <20 nucleotides: Tm=2 (In)

For 20-35 nucleotides: Tm=22+1.46 (In)

-   -   ^(a) or for other monovalent cation, but only accurate in the         0.01-0.4 M range.     -   ^(b) only accurate for % GC in the 30% to 75% range.     -   ^(c) L=length of duplex in base pairs.     -   ^(d) Oligo, oligonucleotide; In, effective length of         primer=2×(no. of G/C)+(no. of NT).

Non-specific binding may be controlled using any one of a number of known techniques such as, for example, blocking the membrane with protein containing solutions, additions of heterologous RNA, DNA, and SDS to the hybridisation buffer, and treatment with Rnase. For non-homologous probes, a series of hybridizations may be performed by varying one of (i) progressively lowering the annealing temperature (for example from 68° C. to 42° C.) or (ii) progressively lowering the formamide concentration (for example from 50% to 0%). The skilled artisan is aware of various parameters which may be altered during hybridisation and which will either maintain or change the stringency conditions.

Besides the hybridisation conditions, specificity of hybridisation typically also depends on the function of post-hybridisation washes. To remove background resulting from non-specific hybridisation, samples are washed with dilute salt solutions. Critical factors of such washes include the ionic strength and temperature of the final wash solution: the lower the salt concentration and the higher the wash temperature, the higher the stringency of the wash. Wash conditions are typically performed at or below hybridisation stringency. A positive hybridisation gives a signal that is at least twice of that of the background. Generally, suitable stringent conditions for nucleic acid hybridisation assays or gene amplification detection procedures are as set forth above. More or less stringent conditions may also be selected. The skilled artisan is aware of various parameters which may be altered during washing and which will either maintain or change the stringency conditions.

For example, typical high stringency hybridisation conditions for DNA hybrids longer than 50 nucleotides encompass hybridisation at 65° C. in 1×SSC or at 42° C. in 1×SSC and 50% formamide, followed by washing at 65° C. in 0.3×SSC. Examples of medium stringency hybridisation conditions for DNA hybrids longer than 50 nucleotides encompass hybridisation at 50° C. in 4×SSC or at 40° C. in 6×SSC and 50% formamide, followed by washing at 50° C. in 2×SSC. The length of the hybrid is the anticipated length for the hybridising nucleic acid. When nucleic acids of known sequence are hybridised, the hybrid length may be determined by aligning the sequences and identifying the conserved regions described herein. 1×SSC is 0.15M NaCl and 15 mM sodium citrate; the hybridisation solution and wash solutions may additionally include 5×Denhardt's reagent, 0.5-1.0% SDS, 100 μg/ml denatured, fragmented salmon sperm DNA, 0.5% sodium pyrophosphate.

For the purposes of defining the level of stringency, reference can be made to Sambrook et al. (2001) Molecular Cloning: a laboratory manual, 3rd Edition Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, CSH, New York or to Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons, N.Y. (1989 and yearly updates).

Gene Shuffling/Directed Evolution

Gene shuffling or directed evolution consists of iterations of DNA shuffling followed by appropriate screening and/or selection to generate variants of nucleic acids or portions thereof encoding proteins having a modified biological activity (Castle et al., (2004) Science 304 (5674): 1151-4; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,811,238 and 6,395,547).

Regulatory Element/Control Sequence/Promoter

The terms “regulatory element”, “control sequence” and “promoter” are all used interchangeably herein and are to be taken in a broad context to refer to regulatory nucleic acid sequences capable of effecting expression of the sequences to which they are ligated. The term “promoter” typically refers to a nucleic acid control sequence located upstream from the transcriptional start of a gene and which is involved in recognising and binding of RNA polymerase and other proteins, thereby directing transcription of an operably linked nucleic acid. Encompassed by the aforementioned terms are transcriptional regulatory sequences derived from a classical eukaryotic genomic gene (including the TATA box which is required for accurate transcription initiation, with or without a CCAAT box sequence) and additional regulatory elements (i.e. upstream activating sequences, enhancers and silencers) which alter gene expression in response to developmental and/or external stimuli, or in a tissue-specific manner. Also included within the term is a transcriptional regulatory sequence of a classical prokaryotic gene, in which case it may include a −35 box sequence and/or −10 box transcriptional regulatory sequences. The term “regulatory element” also encompasses a synthetic fusion molecule or derivative that confers, activates or enhances expression of a nucleic acid molecule in a cell, tissue or organ.

A “plant promoter” comprises regulatory elements, which mediate the expression of a coding sequence segment in plant cells. Accordingly, a plant promoter need not be of plant origin, but may originate from viruses or micro-organisms, for example from viruses which attack plant cells. The “plant promoter” can also originate from a plant cell, e.g. from the plant which is transformed with the nucleic acid sequence to be expressed in the inventive process and described herein. This also applies to other “plant” regulatory signals, such as “plant” terminators. The promoters upstream of the nucleotide sequences useful in the methods of the present invention can be modified by one or more nucleotide substitution(s), insertion(s) and/or deletion(s) without interfering with the functionality or activity of either the promoters, the open reading frame (ORF) or the 3′-regulatory region such as terminators or other 3′ regulatory regions which are located away from the ORF. It is furthermore possible that the activity of the promoters is increased by modification of their sequence, or that they are replaced completely by more active promoters, even promoters from heterologous organisms. For expression in plants, the nucleic acid molecule must, as described above, be linked operably to or comprise a suitable promoter which expresses the gene at the right point in time and with the required spatial expression pattern.

Operably Linked

The term “operably linked” as used herein refers to a functional linkage between the promoter sequence and the gene of interest, such that the promoter sequence is able to initiate transcription of the gene of interest.

Constitutive Promoter

A “constitutive promoter” refers to a promoter that is transcriptionally active during most, but not necessarily all, phases of growth and development and under most environmental conditions, in at least one cell, tissue or organ. Table 2a below gives examples of constitutive promoters.

TABLE 2a Examples of constitutive promoters Gene Source Reference Actin McElroy et al, Plant Cell, 2: 163-171, 1990 HMGP WO 2004/070039 CAMV 35S Odell et al, Nature, 313: 810-812, 1985 CaMV 19S Nilsson et al., Physiol. Plant. 100: 456-462, 1997 GOS2 de Pater et al, Plant J Nov; 2(6): 837-44, 1992, WO 2004/065596 Ubiquitin Christensen et al, Plant Mol. Biol. 18: 675-689, 1992 Rice cyclophilin Buchholz et al, Plant Mol Biol. 25(5): 837-43, 1994 Maize H3 histone Lepetit et al, Mol. Gen. Genet. 231: 276-285, 1992 Alfalfa H3 histone Wu et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 11: 641-649, 1988 Actin 2 An et al, Plant J. 10(1); 107-121, 1996 34S FMV Sanger et al., Plant. Mol. Biol., 14, 1990: 433-443 Rubisco small subunit U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,028 OCS Leisner (1988) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 85(5): 2553 SAD1 Jain et al., Crop Science, 39 (6), 1999: 1696 SAD2 Jain et al., Crop Science, 39 (6), 1999: 1696 Nos Shaw et al. (1984) Nucleic Acids Res. 12(20): 7831-7846 V-ATPase WO 01/14572 Super promoter WO 95/14098 G-box proteins WO 94/12015

Ubiquitous Promoter

A ubiquitous promoter is active in substantially all tissues or cells of an organism.

Developmentally-Regulated Promoter

A developmentally-regulated promoter is active during certain developmental stages or in parts of the plant that undergo developmental changes.

Inducible Promoter

An inducible promoter has induced or increased transcription initiation in response to a chemical (for a review see Gatz 1997, Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol., 48:89-108), environmental or physical stimulus, or may be “stress-inducible”, i.e. activated when a plant is exposed to various stress conditions, or a “pathogen-inducible” i.e. activated when a plant is exposed to exposure to various pathogens.

Organ-Specific/Tissue-Specific Promoter

An organ-specific or tissue-specific promoter is one that is capable of preferentially initiating transcription in certain organs or tissues, such as the leaves, roots, seed tissue etc. For example, a “root-specific promoter” is a promoter that is transcriptionally active predominantly in plant roots, substantially to the exclusion of any other parts of a plant, whilst still allowing for any leaky expression in these other plant parts. Promoters able to initiate transcription in certain cells only are referred to herein as “cell-specific”.

Examples of root-specific promoters are listed in Table 2b below:

TABLE 2b Examples of root-specific promoters Gene Source Reference RCc3 Plant Mol Biol. 1995 Jan; 27(2): 237-48 Arabidopsis PHT1 Kovama et al., 2005; Mudge et al. (2002, Plant J. 31: 341) Medicago phosphate Xiao et al., 2006 transporter Arabidopsis Pyk10 Nitz et al. (2001) Plant Sci 161(2): 337-346 root-expressible Tingey et al., EMBO J. 6: 1, 1987. genes tobacco auxin- Van der Zaal et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 16, 983, 1991. inducible gene β-tubulin Oppenheimer, et al., Gene 63: 87, 1988. tobacco root- Conkling, et al., Plant Physiol. 93: 1203, 1990. specific genes B. napus G1-3b U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,836 gene SbPRP1 Suzuki et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 21: 109-119, 1993. LRX1 Baumberger et al. 2001, Genes & Dev. 15: 1128 BTG-26 US 20050044585 Brassica napus LeAMT1 (tomato) Lauter et al. (1996, PNAS 3: 8139) The LeNRT1-1 Lauter et al. (1996, PNAS 3: 8139) (tomato) class I patatin gene Liu et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 153: 386-395, 1991. (potato) KDC1 Downey et al. (2000, J. Biol. Chem. 275: 39420) (Daucus carota) TobRB7 gene W Song (1997) PhD Thesis, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC USA OsRAB5a (rice) Wang et al. 2002, Plant Sci. 163: 273 ALF5 (Arabidopsis) Diener et al. (2001, Plant Cell 13: 1625) NRT2; 1Np Quesada et al. (1997, Plant Mol. Biol. 34: 265) (N. plumbaginifolia)

A seed-specific promoter is transcriptionally active predominantly in seed tissue, but not necessarily exclusively in seed tissue (in cases of leaky expression). The seed-specific promoter may be active during seed development and/or during germination. The seed specific promoter may be endosperm and/or aleurone and/or embryo specific. Examples of seed-specific promoters (endosperm/aleurone/embryo specific) are shown in Table 2c, d, e, f below. Further examples of seed-specific promoters are given in Qing Qu and Takaiwa (Plant Biotechnol. J. 2, 113-125, 2004), which disclosure is incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth.

TABLE 2c Examples of seed-specific promoters Gene source Reference seed-specific genes Simon et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 5: 191, 1985; Scofield et al., J. Biol. Chem. 262: 12202, 1987.; Baszczynski et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 14: 633, 1990. Brazil Nut albumin Pearson et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 18: 235-245, 1992. Legumin Ellis et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 10: 203-214, 1988. glutelin (rice) Takaiwa et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 208: 15-22, 1986; Takaiwa et al., FEBS Letts. 221: 43-47, 1987. Zein Matzke et al Plant Mol Biol, 14(3): 323-32 1990 napA Stalberg et al, Planta 199: 515-519, 1996. wheat LMW and HMW glutenin-1 Mol Gen Genet 216: 81-90, 1989; NAR 17: 461-2, 1989 wheat SPA Albani et al, Plant Cell, 9: 171-184, 1997 wheat α, β, γ-gliadins EMBO J. 3: 1409-15, 1984 barley ltr1 promoter Diaz et al. (1995) Mol Gen Genet 248(5): 592-8 barley B1, C, D, hordein Theor Appl Gen 98: 1253-62, 1999; Plant J 4: 343-55, 1993; Mol Gen Genet 250: 750-60, 1996 barley DOF Mena et al, The Plant Journal, 116(1): 53-62, 1998 blz2 EP99106056.7 synthetic promoter Vicente-Carbajosa et al., Plant J. 13: 629-640, 1998. rice prolamin NRP33 Wu et al, Plant Cell Physiology 39(8) 885-889, 1998 rice a-globulin Glb-1 Wu et al, Plant Cell Physiology 39(8) 885-889, 1998 rice OSH1 Sato et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93: 8117-8122, 1996 rice α-globulin REB/OHP-1 Nakase et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 33: 513-522, 1997 rice ADP-glucose pyrophos- Trans Res 6: 157-68, 1997 phorylase maize ESR gene family Plant J 12: 235-46, 1997 sorghum α-kafirin DeRose et al., Plant Mol. Biol 32: 1029-35, 1996 KNOX Postma-Haarsma et al, Plant Mol. Biol. 39: 257-71, 1999 rice oleosin Wu et al, J. Biochem. 123: 386, 1998 sunflower oleosin Cummins et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 19: 873-876, 1992 PRO0117, putative rice 40S WO 2004/070039 ribosomal protein PRO0136, rice alanine unpublished aminotransferase PRO0147, trypsin inhibitor ITR1 unpublished (barley) PRO0151, rice WSI18 WO 2004/070039 PRO0175, rice RAB21 WO 2004/070039 PRO005 WO 2004/070039 PRO0095 WO 2004/070039 α-amylase (Amy32b) Lanahan et al, Plant Cell 4: 203-211, 1992; Skriver et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 88: 7266-7270, 1991 cathepsin β-like gene Cejudo et al, Plant Mol Biol 20: 849-856, 1992 Barley Ltp2 Kalla et al., Plant J. 6: 849-60, 1994 Chi26 Leah et al., Plant J. 4: 579-89, 1994 Maize B-Peru Selinger et al., Genetics 149; 1125-38, 1998

TABLE 2d examples of endosperm-specific promoters Gene source Reference glutelin (rice) Takaiwa et al. (1986) Mol Gen Genet 208: 15-22; Takaiwa et al. (1987) FEBS Letts. 221: 43-47 Zein Matzke et al., (1990) Plant Mol Biol 14(3): 323-32 wheat LMW and Colot et al. (1989) Mol Gen Genet 216: 81-90, HMW glutenin-1 Anderson et al. (1989) NAR 17: 461-2 wheat SPA Albani et al. (1997) Plant Cell 9: 171-184 wheat gliadins Rafalski et al. (1984) EMBO 3: 1409-15 barley ltr1 promoter Diaz et al. (1995) Mol Gen Genet 248(5): 592-8 barley B1, C, D, Cho et al. (1999) Theor Appl Genet 98: 1253-62; hordein Muller et al. (1993) Plant J 4: 343-55; Sorenson et al. (1996) Mol Gen Genet 250: 750-60 barley DOF Mena et al, (1998) Plant J 116(1): 53-62 blz2 Onate et al. (1999) J Biol Chem 274(14): 9175-82 Synthetic promoter Vicente-Carbajosa et al. (1998) Plant J 13: 629-640 rice prolamin Wu et al, (1998) Plant Cell Physiol 39(8) 885-889 NRP33 rice globulin Glb-1 Wu et al. (1998) Plant Cell Physiol 39(8) 885-889 rice globulin Nakase et al. (1997) Plant Molec Biol 33: 513-522 REB/OHP-1 rice ADP-glucose Russell et al. (1997) Trans Res 6: 157-68 pyrophosphorylase maize ESR gene Opsahl-Ferstad et al. (1997) Plant J 12: 235-46 family Sorghum kafirin DeRose et al. (1996) Plant Mol Biol 32: 1029-35

TABLE 2e Examples of embryo specific promoters: Gene source Reference rice OSH1 Sato et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93: 8117-8122, 1996 KNOX Postma-Haarsma et al, Plant Mol. Biol. 39: 257-71, 1999 PRO0151 WO 2004/070039 PRO0175 WO 2004/070039 PRO005 WO 2004/070039 PRO0095 WO 2004/070039

TABLE 2f Examples of aleurone-specific promoters: Gene source Reference α-amylase (Amy32b) Lanahan et al, Plant Cell 4: 203-211, 1992; Skriver et al, Proc Natl Aced Sci USA 88: 7266-7270, 1991 Cathepsin β-like gene Cejudo et al, Plant Mol Biol 20: 849-856, 1992 Barley Ltp2 Kalla et al., Plant J. 6: 849-60, 1994 Chi26 Leah et al., Plant J. 4: 579-89, 1994 Maize B-Peru Selinger et al., Genetics 149; 1125-38, 1998

A green tissue-specific promoter as defined herein is a promoter that is transcriptionally active predominantly in green tissue, substantially to the exclusion of any other parts of a plant, whilst still allowing for any leaky expression in these other plant parts.

Examples of green tissue-specific promoters which may be used to perform the methods of the invention are shown in Table 2g below.

TABLE 2g Examples of green tissue-specific promoters Gene Expression Reference Maize Orthophosphate dikinase Leaf specific Fukavama et al., 2001 Maize Phosphoenolpyruvate Leaf specific Kausch et al., 2001 carboxylase Rice Phosphoenolpyruvate Leaf specific Liu et al., 2003 carboxylase Rice small subunit Rubisco Leaf specific Nomura et al., 2000 rice beta expansin EXBP9 Shoot specific WO 2004/070039 Pigeonpea small subunit Rubisco Leaf specific Panguluri et al., 2005 Pea RBCS3A Leaf specific

Another example of a tissue-specific promoter is a meristem-specific promoter, which is transcriptionally active predominantly in meristematic tissue, substantially to the exclusion of any other parts of a plant, whilst still allowing for any leaky expression in these other plant parts. Examples of green meristem-specific promoters which may be used to perform the methods of the invention are shown in Table 2h below.

TABLE 2h Examples of meristem-specific promoters Gene source Expression pattern Reference rice OSH1 Shoot apical meristem, from Sato et al. (1996) embryo globular stage to Proc. Natl. Acad. seedling stage Sci. USA, 93: 8117-8122 Rice metallothionein Meristem specific BAD87835.1 WAK1 & WAK 2 Shoot and root apical Wagner & Kohorn meristems, and in expanding (2001) Plant Cell leaves and sepals 13(2): 303-318

Terminator

The term “terminator” encompasses a control sequence which is a DNA sequence at the end of a transcriptional unit which signals 3′ processing and polyadenylation of a primary transcript and termination of transcription. The terminator can be derived from the natural gene, from a variety of other plant genes, or from T-DNA. The terminator to be added may be derived from, for example, the nopaline synthase or octopine synthase genes, or alternatively from another plant gene, or less preferably from any other eukaryotic gene.

Selectable Marker (Gene)/Reporter Gene

“Selectable marker”, “selectable marker gene” or “reporter gene” includes any gene that confers a phenotype on a cell in which it is expressed to facilitate the identification and/or selection of cells that are transfected or transformed with a nucleic acid construct of the invention. These marker genes enable the identification of a successful transfer of the nucleic acid molecules via a series of different principles. Suitable markers may be selected from markers that confer antibiotic or herbicide resistance, that introduce a new metabolic trait or that allow visual selection. Examples of selectable marker genes include genes conferring resistance to antibiotics (such as nptII that phosphorylates neomycin and kanamycin, or hpt, phosphorylating hygromycin, or genes conferring resistance to, for example, bleomycin, streptomycin, tetracyclin, chloramphenicol, ampicillin, gentamycin, geneticin (G418), spectinomycin or blasticidin), to herbicides (for example bar which provides resistance to Basta®; aroA or gox providing resistance against glyphosate, or the genes conferring resistance to, for example, imidazolinone, phosphinothricin or sulfonylurea), or genes that provide a metabolic trait (such as manA that allows plants to use mannose as sole carbon source or xylose isomerase for the utilisation of xylose, or antinutritive markers such as the resistance to 2-deoxyglucose). Expression of visual marker genes results in the formation of colour (for example β-glucuronidase, GUS or β-galactosidase with its coloured substrates, for example X-Gal), luminescence (such as the luciferin/luceferase system) or fluorescence (Green Fluorescent Protein, GFP, and derivatives thereof). This list represents only a small number of possible markers. The skilled worker is familiar with such markers. Different markers are preferred, depending on the organism and the selection method.

Transgenic/Transgene/Recombinant

For the purposes of the invention, “transgenic”, “transgene” or “recombinant” means with regard to, for example, a nucleic acid sequence, an expression cassette, gene construct or a vector comprising the nucleic acid sequence or an organism transformed with the nucleic acid sequences, expression cassettes or vectors according to the invention, all those constructions brought about by recombinant methods in which either

-   -   (a) the nucleic acid sequences encoding proteins useful in the         methods of the invention, or     -   (b) genetic control sequence(s) which is operably linked with         the nucleic acid sequence according to the invention, for         example a promoter, or     -   (c) a) and b)         are not located in their natural genetic environment or have         been modified by recombinant methods, it being possible for the         modification to take the form of, for example, a substitution,         addition, deletion, inversion or insertion of one or more         nucleotide residues. The natural genetic environment is         understood as meaning the natural genomic or chromosomal locus         in the original plant or the presence in a genomic library. In         the case of a genomic library, the natural genetic environment         of the nucleic acid sequence is preferably retained, at least in         part. The environment flanks the nucleic acid sequence at least         on one side and has a sequence length of at least 50 bp,         preferably at least 500 bp, especially preferably at least 1000         bp, most preferably at least 5000 bp. A naturally occurring         expression cassette—for example the naturally occurring         combination of the natural promoter of the nucleic acid         sequences with the corresponding nucleic acid sequence encoding         a polypeptide useful in the methods of the present invention, as         defined above—becomes a transgenic expression cassette when this         expression cassette is modified by non-natural, synthetic         (“artificial”) methods such as, for example, mutagenic         treatment. Suitable methods are described, for example, in U.S.         Pat. No. 5,565,350 or WO 00/15815.

A transgenic plant for the purposes of the invention is thus understood as meaning, as above, that the nucleic acids used in the method of the invention are not at their natural locus in the genome of said plant, it being possible for the nucleic acids to be expressed homologously or heterologously. However, as mentioned, transgenic also means that, while the nucleic acids according to the invention or used in the inventive method are at their natural position in the genome of a plant, the sequence has been modified with regard to the natural sequence, and/or that the regulatory sequences of the natural sequences have been modified. Transgenic is preferably understood as meaning the expression of the nucleic acids according to the invention at an unnatural locus in the genome, i.e. homologous or, preferably, heterologous expression of the nucleic acids takes place. Preferred transgenic plants are mentioned herein.

Transformation

The term “introduction” or “transformation” as referred to herein encompasses the transfer of an exogenous polynucleotide into a host cell, irrespective of the method used for transfer. Plant tissue capable of subsequent clonal propagation, whether by organogenesis or embryogenesis, may be transformed with a genetic construct of the present invention and a whole plant regenerated there from. The particular tissue chosen will vary depending on the clonal propagation systems available for, and best suited to, the particular species being transformed. Exemplary tissue targets include leaf disks, pollen, embryos, cotyledons, hypocotyls, megagametophytes, callus tissue, existing meristematic tissue (e.g., apical meristem, axillary buds, and root meristems), and induced meristem tissue (e.g., cotyledon meristem and hypocotyl meristem). The polynucleotide may be transiently or stably introduced into a host cell and may be maintained non-integrated, for example, as a plasmid. Alternatively, it may be integrated into the host genome. The resulting transformed plant cell may then be used to regenerate a transformed plant in a manner known to persons skilled in the art.

The transfer of foreign genes into the genome of a plant is called transformation. Transformation of plant species is now a fairly routine technique. Advantageously, any of several transformation methods may be used to introduce the gene of interest into a suitable ancestor cell. The methods described for the transformation and regeneration of plants from plant tissues or plant cells may be utilized for transient or for stable transformation. Transformation methods include the use of liposomes, electroporation, chemicals that increase free DNA uptake, injection of the DNA directly into the plant, particle gun bombardment, transformation using viruses or pollen and microprojection. Methods may be selected from the calcium/polyethylene glycol method for protoplasts (Krens, F. A. et al., (1982) Nature 296, 72-74; Negrutiu I et al. (1987) Plant Mol Biol 8: 363-373); electroporation of protoplasts (Shillito R. D. et al. (1985) Bio/Technol 3, 1099-1102); microinjection into plant material (Crossway A et al., (1986) Mol. Gen Genet 202: 179-185); DNA or RNA-coated particle bombardment (Klein T M et al., (1987) Nature 327: 70) infection with (non-integrative) viruses and the like. Transgenic plants, including transgenic crop plants, are preferably produced via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. An advantageous transformation method is the transformation in planta. To this end, it is possible, for example, to allow the agrobacteria to act on plant seeds or to inoculate the plant meristem with agrobacteria. It has proved particularly expedient in accordance with the invention to allow a suspension of transformed agrobacteria to act on the intact plant or at least on the flower primordia. The plant is subsequently grown on until the seeds of the treated plant are obtained (Clough and Bent, Plant J. (1998) 16, 735-743). Methods for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of rice include well known methods for rice transformation, such as those described in any of the following: European patent application EP 1198985 A1, Aldemita and Hodges (Planta 199: 612-617, 1996); Chan et al. (Plant Mol Biol 22 (3): 491-506, 1993), Hiei et al. (Plant J 6 (2): 271-282, 1994), which disclosures are incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth. In the case of corn transformation, the preferred method is as described in either Ishida et al. (Nat. Biotechnol 14 (6): 745-50, 1996) or Frame et al. (Plant Physiol 129 (1): 13-22, 2002), which disclosures are incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth. Said methods are further described by way of example in B. Jenes et al., Techniques for Gene Transfer, in: Transgenic Plants, Vol. 1, Engineering and Utilization, eds. S. D. Kung and R. Wu, Academic Press (1993) 128-143 and in Potrykus Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Molec. Biol. 42 (1991) 205-225). The nucleic acids or the construct to be expressed is preferably cloned into a vector, which is suitable for transforming Agrobacterium tumefaciens, for example pBin19 (Bevan et al., Nucl. Acids Res. 12 (1984) 8711). Agrobacteria transformed by such a vector can then be used in known manner for the transformation of plants, such as plants used as a model, like Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana is within the scope of the present invention not considered as a crop plant), or crop plants such as, by way of example, tobacco plants, for example by immersing bruised leaves or chopped leaves in an agrobacterial solution and then culturing them in suitable media. The transformation of plants by means of Agrobacterium tumefaciens is described, for example, by Höfgen and Willmitzer in Nucl. Acid Res. (1988) 16, 9877 or is known inter alia from F. F. White, Vectors for Gene Transfer in Higher Plants; in Transgenic Plants, Vol. 1, Engineering and Utilization, eds. S. D. Kung and R. Wu, Academic Press, 1993, pp. 15-38.

In addition to the transformation of somatic cells, which then have to be regenerated into intact plants, it is also possible to transform the cells of plant meristems and in particular those cells which develop into gametes. In this case, the transformed gametes follow the natural plant development, giving rise to transgenic plants. Thus, for example, seeds of Arabidopsis are treated with agrobacteria and seeds are obtained from the developing plants of which a certain proportion is transformed and thus transgenic [Feldman, K A and Marks M D (1987). Mol Gen Genet 208:274-289; Feldmann K (1992). In: C Koncz, N-H Chua and J Shell, eds, Methods in Arabidopsis Research. Word Scientific, Singapore, pp. 274-289]. Alternative methods are based on the repeated removal of the inflorescences and incubation of the excision site in the center of the rosette with transformed agrobacteria, whereby transformed seeds can likewise be obtained at a later point in time (Chang (1994). Plant J. 5: 551-558; Katavic (1994). Mol Gen Genet, 245: 363-370). However, an especially effective method is the vacuum infiltration method with its modifications such as the “floral dip” method. In the case of vacuum infiltration of Arabidopsis, intact plants under reduced pressure are treated with an agrobacterial suspension [Bechthold, N (1993). C R Acad Sci Paris Life Sci, 316: 1194-1199], while in the case of the“floral dip” method the developing floral tissue is incubated briefly with a surfactant-treated agrobacterial suspension [Clough, S J and Bent, A F (1998). The Plant J. 16, 735-743]. A certain proportion of transgenic seeds are harvested in both cases, and these seeds can be distinguished from non-transgenic seeds by growing under the above-described selective conditions. In addition the stable transformation of plastids is of advantages because plastids are inherited maternally is most crops reducing or eliminating the risk of transgene flow through pollen. The transformation of the chloroplast genome is generally achieved by a process which has been schematically displayed in Klaus et al., 2004 [Nature Biotechnology 22 (2), 225-229]. Briefly the sequences to be transformed are cloned together with a selectable marker gene between flanking sequences homologous to the chloroplast genome. These homologous flanking sequences direct site specific integration into the plastome. Plastidal transformation has been described for many different plant species and an overview is given in Bock (2001) Transgenic plastids in basic research and plant biotechnology. J Mol Biol. 2001 Sep. 21; 312 (3):425-38 or Maliga, P (2003) Progress towards commercialization of plastid transformation technology. Trends Biotechnol. 21, 20-28. Further biotechnological progress has recently been reported in form of marker free plastid transformants, which can be produced by a transient co-integrated maker gene (Klaus et al., 2004, Nature Biotechnology 22 (2), 225-229).

TILLING

TILLING (Targeted Induced Local Lesions In Genomes) is a mutagenesis technology useful to generate and/or identify nucleic acids encoding proteins with modified expression and/or activity. TILLING also allows selection of plants carrying such mutant variants. These mutant variants may exhibit modified expression, either in strength or in location or in timing (if the mutations affect the promoter for example). These mutant variants may exhibit higher activity than that exhibited by the gene in its natural form. TILLING combines high-density mutagenesis with high-throughput screening methods. The steps typically followed in TILLING are: (a) EMS mutagenesis (Redei G P and Koncz C (1992) In Methods in Arabidopsis Research, Koncz C, Chua N H, Schell J, eds. Singapore, World Scientific Publishing Co, pp. 16-82; Feldmann et al., (1994) In Meyerowitz E M, Somerville C R, eds, Arabidopsis. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., pp 137-172; Lightner J and Caspar T (1998) In J Martinez-Zapater, J Salinas, eds, Methods on Molecular Biology, Vol. 82. Humana Press, Totowa, N.J., pp 91-104); (b) DNA preparation and pooling of individuals; (c) PCR amplification of a region of interest; (d) denaturation and annealing to allow formation of heteroduplexes; (e) DHPLC, where the presence of a heteroduplex in a pool is detected as an extra peak in the chromatogram; (f) identification of the mutant individual; and (g) sequencing of the mutant PCR product. Methods for TILLING are well known in the art (McCallum et al., (2000) Nat Biotechnol 18: 455-457; reviewed by Stemple (2004) Nat Rev Genet 5 (2): 145-50).

Yield

The term “yield” in general means a measurable produce of economic value, typically related to a specified crop, to an area, and to a period of time. Individual plant parts directly contribute to yield based on their number, size and/or weight, or the actual yield is the yield per acre for a crop and year, which is determined by dividing total production (includes both harvested and appraised production) by planted acres.

Increase/Improve/Enhance

The terms “increase”, “improve” or “enhance” are interchangeable and shall mean in the sense of the application at least a 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9% or 10%, preferably at least 15% or 20%, more preferably 25%, 30%, 35% or 40% more yield and/or growth in comparison to control plants as defined herein.

Seed Yield

Increased seed yield may manifest itself as one or more of the following: a) an increase in seed biomass (total seed weight) which may be on an individual seed basis and/or per plant and/or per hectare or acre; b) increased number of flowers per plant; c) increased number of (filled) seeds; d) increased seed filling rate (which is expressed as the ratio between the number of filled seeds divided by the total number of seeds); e) increased harvest index, which is expressed as a ratio of the yield of harvestable parts, such as seeds, divided by the total biomass; and f) increased thousand kernel weight (TKW), which is extrapolated from the number of filled seeds counted and their total weight. An increased TKW may result from an increased seed size and/or seed weight, and may also result from an increase in embryo and/or endosperm size.

An increase in seed yield may also be manifested as an increase in seed size and/or seed volume. Furthermore, an increase in seed yield may also manifest itself as an increase in seed area and/or seed length and/or seed width and/or seed perimeter. Increased yield may also result in modified architecture, or may occur because of modified architecture.

Plant

The term “plant” as used herein encompasses whole plants, ancestors and progeny of the plants and plant parts, including seeds, shoots, stems, leaves, roots (including tubers), flowers, and tissues and organs, wherein each of the aforementioned comprise the gene/nucleic acid of interest. The term “plant” also encompasses plant cells, suspension cultures, callus tissue, embryos, meristematic regions, gametophytes, sporophytes, pollen and microspores, again wherein each of the aforementioned comprises the gene/nucleic acid of interest.

Plants that are particularly useful in the methods of the invention include all plants which belong to the superfamily Viridiplantae, in particular monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants including fodder or forage legumes, ornamental plants, food crops, trees or shrubs selected from the list comprising Acer spp., Actinidia spp., Abelmoschus spp., Agave sisalana, Agropyron spp., Agrostis stolonifera, Allium spp., Amaranthus spp., Ammophila arenaria, Ananas comosus, Annona spp., Apium graveolens, Arachis spp, Artocarpus spp., Asparagus officinalis, Avena spp. (e.g. Avena sativa, Avena fatua, Avena byzantina, Avena fatua var. sativa, Avena hybrida), Averrhoa carambola, Bambusa sp., Benincasa hispida, Bertholletia excelsea, Beta vulgaris, Brassica spp. (e.g. Brassica napus, Brassica rapa ssp. [canola, oilseed rape, turnip rape]), Cadaba farinosa, Camellia sinensis, Canna indica, Cannabis sativa, Capsicum spp., Carex elata, Carica papaya, Carissa macrocarpa, Carya spp., Carthamus tinctorius, Castanea spp., Ceiba pentandra, Cichorium endivia, Cinnamomum spp., Citrullus lanatus, Citrus spp., Cocos spp., Coffea spp., Colocasia esculenta, Cola spp., Corchorus sp., Coriandrum sativum, Corylus spp., Crataegus spp., Crocus sativus, Cucurbita spp., Cucumis spp., Cynara spp., Daucus carota, Desmodium spp., Dimocarpus longan, Dioscorea spp., Diospyros spp., Echinochloa spp., Elaeis (e.g. Elaeis guineensis, Elaeis oleifera), Eleusine coracana, Erianthus sp., Eriobotrya japonica, Eucalyptus sp., Eugenia uniflora, Fagopyrum spp., Fagus spp., Festuca arundinacea, Ficus carica, Fortunella spp., Fragaria spp., Ginkgo biloba, Glycine spp. (e.g. Glycine max, Soja hispida or Soja max), Gossypium hirsutum, Helianthus spp. (e.g. Helianthus annuus), Hemerocallis fulva, Hibiscus spp., Hordeum spp. (e.g. Hordeum vulgare), Ipomoea batatas, Juglans spp., Lactuca sativa, Lathyrus spp., Lens culinaris, Linum usitatissimum, Litchi chinensis, Lotus spp., Luffa acutangula, Lupinus spp., Luzula sylvatica, Lycopersicon spp. (e.g. Lycopersicon esculentum, Lycopersicon lycopersicum, Lycopersicon pyriforme), Macrotyloma spp., Malus spp., Malpighia emarginata, Mammea americana, Mangifera indica, Manihot spp., Manilkara zapota, Medicago sativa, Melilotus spp., Mentha spp., Miscanthus sinensis, Momordica spp., Morus nigra, Musa spp., Nicotiana spp., Olea spp., Opuntia spp., Omithopus spp., Oryza spp. (e.g. Oryza sativa, Oryza latifolia), Panicum miliaceum, Panicum virgatum, Passiflora edulis, Pastinaca sativa, Pennisetum sp., Persea spp., Petroselinum crispum, Phalaris arundinacea, Phaseolus spp., Phleum pratense, Phoenix spp., Phragmites australis, Physalis spp., Pinus spp., Pistacia vera, Pisum spp., Poa spp., Populus spp., Prosopis spp., Prunus spp., Psidium spp., Punica granatum, Pyrus communis, Quercus spp., Raphanus sativus, Rheum rhabarbarum, Ribes spp., Ricinus communis, Rubus spp., Saccharum spp., Salix sp., Sambucus spp., Secale cereale, Sesamum spp., Sinapis sp., Solanum spp. (e.g. Solanum tuberosum, Solanum integrifolium or Solanum lycopersicum), Sorghum bicolor, Spinacia spp., Syzygium spp., Tagetes spp., Tamarindus indica, Theobroma cacao, Trifolium spp., Triticosecale rimpaui, Triticum spp. (e.g. Triticum aestivum, Triticum durum, Triticum turgidum, Triticum hybernum, Triticum macha, Triticum sativum or Triticum vulgare), Tropaeolum minus, Tropaeolum majus, Vaccinium spp., Vicia spp., Vigna spp., Viola odorata, Vitis spp., Zea mays, Zizania palustris, Ziziphus spp., amongst others.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION I. Harpin

According to a first embodiment, the present invention provides a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants, comprising modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a Harpin-associated Factor G (hereinafter termed “HpaG”) polypeptide.

A preferred method for modulating (preferably, increasing) expression of a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide is by introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide.

Any reference hereinafter to a “protein useful in the methods of the invention” is taken to mean an HpaG polypeptide as defined herein. Any reference hereinafter to a “nucleic acid useful in the methods of the invention” is taken to mean a nucleic acid capable of encoding such an

HpaG polypeptide. The nucleic acid to be introduced into a plant (and therefore useful in performing the methods of the invention) is any nucleic acid encoding the type of protein which will now be described, hereafter also named “HpaG nucleic acid” or “HpaG gene”.

An HpaG polypeptide as defined herein comprises any polypeptide having the following features:

-   -   (i) in increasing order of preference, at least 35%, 40%, 45%,         50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or more         sequence identity to the HpaG polypeptide sequence represented         by SEQ ID NO: 2; and     -   (ii) an amino acid composition wherein the glycine content         ranges from between about 13% and about 25%, the glutamine         content ranges from between about 13% and about 20%, the         cysteine content ranges from between about 0% and about 1%, the         histidine content ranges from between about 0% and about 1%, and         wherein tryptophan is absent.

Preferably, the length of the HpaG polypeptide ranges between about 121 and about 143 amino acids.

Preferably, the HpaG protein also comprises the conserved motif 1 (SEQ ID NO: 3)

G(G/E/D)(N/E)X(Q/R/P)Q(A/S)GX(N/D)G wherein X on position 4 may be any amino acid, preferably one of S, N, P, R, or Q, and wherein X on position 9 may be any amino acid, preferably one of Q, E, S, or P; and/or the conserved motif 2 (SEQ ID NO: 4)

(P/A/V)S(P/Q/A)(F/L/Y)TQ(M/A)LM(H/N/Q)IV(G/M) (E/D/Q)

Optionally, the HpaG protein also has the conserved motif 3:

(found within SEQ ID NO: 2) QGISEKQLDQLL

And/or the conserved motif 4:

(found within SEQ ID NO: 2) ILQAQN

Furthermore, HpaG polypeptides (at least in their native form) elicit a hypersensitive response in Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Cvi-0 (Kim et al., J. Bacteriol. 185, 3155-3166, 2003).

Alternatively, the homologue of a HpaG protein has in increasing order of preference at least 25%, 26%, 27%, 28%, 29%, 30%, 31%, 32%, 33%, 34%, 35%, 36%, 37%, 38%, 39%, 40%, 41%, 42%, 43%, 44%, 45%, 46%, 47%, 48%, 49%, 50%, 51%, 52%, 53%, 54%, 55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%, 60%, 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% overall sequence identity to the amino acid represented by SEQ ID NO: 2, provided that the homologous protein comprises the conserved motifs as outlined above. The overall sequence identity is determined using a global alignment algorithm, such as the Needleman Wunsch algorithm in the program GAP (GCG Wisconsin Package, Accelrys), preferably with default parameters. Compared to overall sequence identity, the sequence identity will generally be higher when only conserved domains or motifs are considered.

The term “domain” and “motif” is as defined in the “definitions” section herein. Specialist databases exist for the identification of domains, for example, SMART (Schultz et al. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 5857-5864; Letunic et al. (2002) Nucleic Acids Res 30, 242-244, InterPro (Mulder et al., (2003) Nucl. Acids. Res. 31, 315-318, Prosite (Bucher and Bairoch (1994), A generalized profile syntax for biomolecular sequences motifs and its function in automatic sequence interpretation. (In) ISMB-94; Proceedings 2nd International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology. Altman R., Brutlag D., Karp P., Lathrop R., Searls D., Eds., pp 53-61, AAAIPress, Menlo Park; Hulo et al., Nucl. Acids. Res. 32:D134-D137, (2004), or Pfam (Bateman et al., Nucleic Acids Research 30 (1): 276-280 (2002). A set of tools for in silico analysis of protein sequences is available on the ExPASY proteomics server (hosted by the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (Gasteiger et al., ExPASy: the proteomics server for in-depth protein knowledge and analysis, Nucleic Acids Res. 31:3784-3788 (2003)). Domains may also be identified using routine techniques, such as by sequence alignment.

Methods for the alignment of sequences for comparison are well known in the art, such methods include GAP, BESTFIT, BLAST, FASTA and TFASTA. GAP uses the algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch ((1970) J Mol Biol 48: 443-453) to find the global (i.e. spanning the complete sequences) alignment of two sequences that maximizes the number of matches and minimizes the number of gaps. The BLAST algorithm (Altschul et al. (1990) J Mol Biol 215: 403-10) calculates percent sequence identity and performs a statistical analysis of the similarity between the two sequences. The software for performing BLAST analysis is publicly available through the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Homologues may readily be identified using, for example, the ClustalW multiple sequence alignment algorithm (version 1.83), with the default pairwise alignment parameters, and a scoring method in percentage. Global percentages of similarity and identity may also be determined using one of the methods available in the MatGAT software package (Campanella et al., BMC Bioinformatics. 2003 Jul. 10; 4:29. MatGAT: an application that generates similarity/identity matrices using protein or DNA sequences.). Minor manual editing may be performed to optimise alignment between conserved motifs, as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art. Furthermore, instead of using full-length sequences for the identification of homologues, specific domains may also be used. The sequence identity values may be determined over the entire nucleic acid or amino acid sequence or over selected domains or conserved motif(s), using the programs mentioned above using the default parameters.

The present invention is illustrated by transforming plants with the nucleic acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 1, encoding the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2. However, performance of the invention is not restricted to these sequences; the methods of the invention may advantageously be performed using any HpaG-encoding nucleic acid or HpaG-like polypeptide as defined herein.

Examples of nucleic acids encoding HpaG polypeptides are given in Table A of Example 1 herein. Such nucleic acids are useful in performing the methods of the invention. The amino acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1 are example sequences of orthologues and paralogues of the HpaG polypeptide represented by SEQ ID NO: 2, the terms “orthologues” and “paralogues” being as defined herein. Further orthologues and paralogues may readily be identified by performing a so-called reciprocal blast search. Typically, this involves a first BLAST involving BLASTing a query sequence (for example using any of the sequences listed in Table A of Example 1) against any sequence database, such as the publicly available NCBI database. BLASTN or TBLASTX (using standard default values) are generally used when starting from a nucleotide sequence, and BLASTP or TBLASTN (using standard default values) when starting from a protein sequence. The BLAST results may optionally be filtered. The full-length sequences of either the filtered results or non-filtered results are then BLASTed back (second BLAST) against sequences from the organism from which the query sequence is derived (where the query sequence is SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, the second BLAST would therefore be against Xanthomonas sequences). The results of the first and second BLASTs are then compared. A paralogue is identified if a high-ranking hit from the first blast is from the same species as from which the query sequence is derived, a BLAST back then ideally results in the query sequence amongst the highest hits; an orthologue is identified if a high-ranking hit in the first BLAST is not from the same species as from which the query sequence is derived, and preferably results upon BLAST back in the query sequence being among the highest hits.

High-ranking hits are those having a low E-value. The lower the E-value, the more significant the score (or in other words the lower the chance that the hit was found by chance). Computation of the E-value is well known in the art. In addition to E-values, comparisons are also scored by percentage identity. Percentage identity refers to the number of identical nucleotides (or amino acids) between the two compared nucleic acid (or polypeptide) sequences over a particular length. In the case of large families, ClustalW may be used, followed by a neighbour joining tree, to help visualize clustering of related genes and to identify orthologues and paralogues.

Nucleic acid variants may also be useful in practising the methods of the invention. Examples of such variants include nucleic acids encoding homologues and derivatives of any one of the amino acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1, the terms “homologue” and “derivative” being as defined herein. Also useful in the methods of the invention are nucleic acids encoding homologues and derivatives of orthologues or paralogues of any one of the amino acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1. Homologues and derivatives useful in the methods of the present invention have substantially the same biological and functional activity as the unmodified protein from which they are derived.

Further nucleic acid variants useful in practising the methods of the invention include portions of nucleic acids encoding HpaG polypeptides, nucleic acids hybridising to nucleic acids encoding HpaG polypeptides, and variants of nucleic acids encoding HpaG polypeptides obtained by gene shuffling. The terms hybridising sequence, and gene shuffling are as described herein.

Nucleic acids encoding HpaG polypeptides need not be full-length nucleic acids, since performance of the methods of the invention does not rely on the use of full-length nucleic acid sequences. According to the present invention, there is provided a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants, comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a portion of any one of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1, or a portion of a nucleic acid encoding an orthologue, paralogue or homologue of any of the amino acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1.

A portion of a nucleic acid may be prepared, for example, by making one or more deletions to the nucleic acid. The portions may be used in isolated form or they may be fused to other coding (or non-coding) sequences in order to, for example, produce a protein that combines several activities. When fused to other coding sequences, the resultant polypeptide produced upon translation may be bigger than that predicted for the protein portion.

Portions useful in the methods of the invention, encode an HpaG polypeptide as defined herein, and have substantially the same biological activity as the amino acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1. Preferably, the portion is a portion of any one of the nucleic acids given in Table A of Example 1, or is a portion of a nucleic acid encoding an orthologue or paralogue of any one of the amino acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1. Preferably the portion is, in increasing order of preference at least 70, 90, 110, 130 consecutive nucleotides in length, the consecutive nucleotides being of any one of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1, or of a nucleic acid encoding an orthologue or paralogue of any one of the amino acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1. Most preferably the portion is a portion of the nucleic acid of SEQ ID NO: 1. Preferably, the portion encodes an amino acid sequence which when used in the construction of a phylogenetic tree, such as the one depicted in FIG. 2, tends to cluster with the group of HpaG polypeptides comprising the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 2 rather than with any other group.

Another nucleic acid variant useful in the methods of the invention is a nucleic acid capable of hybridising, under reduced stringency conditions, preferably under stringent conditions, with a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined herein, or with a portion as defined herein.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants, comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid capable of hybridizing to any one of the nucleic acids given in Table A of Example 1, or comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid capable of hybridising to a nucleic acid encoding an orthologue, paralogue or homologue of any of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1.

Hybridising sequences useful in the methods of the invention encode an HpaG polypeptide as defined herein, and have substantially the same biological activity as the amino acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1. Preferably, the hybridising sequence is capable of hybridising to any one of the nucleic acids given in Table A of Example 1, or to a portion of any of these sequences, a portion being as defined above, or wherein the hybridising sequence is capable of hybridising to a nucleic acid encoding an orthologue or paralogue of any one of the amino acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1. Most preferably, the hybridising sequence is capable of hybridising to a nucleic acid as represented by SEQ ID NO: 1 or to a portion thereof.

Preferably, the hybridising sequence encodes an amino acid sequence which when used in the construction of a phylogenetic tree, such as the one depicted in FIG. 2, tends to cluster with the group of HpaG polypeptides comprising the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 2 rather than with any other group.

Gene shuffling or directed evolution may also be used to generate variants of nucleic acids encoding HpaG polypeptides as defined above; the term “gene shuffling” being as defined herein.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants, comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a variant of any one of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1, or comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a variant of a nucleic acid encoding an orthologue, paralogue or homologue of any of the amino acid sequences given in Table A of Example 1, which variant nucleic acid is obtained by gene shuffling.

Preferably, the amino acid sequence encoded by the variant nucleic acid obtained by gene shuffling, when used in the construction of a phylogenetic tree such as the one depicted in FIG. 2, tends to cluster with the group of HpaG polypeptides comprising the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 2 rather than with any other group.

Furthermore, nucleic acid variants may also be obtained by site-directed mutagenesis. Several methods are available to achieve site-directed mutagenesis, the most common being PCR based methods (Current Protocols in Molecular Biology. Wiley Eds.).

Nucleic acids encoding HpaG polypeptides may be derived from any natural or artificial source. The nucleic acid may be modified from its native form in composition and/or genomic environment through deliberate human manipulation. Preferably the HpaG polypeptide-encoding nucleic acid is of prokaryotic origin, preferably from a Gram-negative bacterium possessing a TTSS, further preferably from a plant pathogenic bacterium possessing a TTSS, more preferably from the family of Pseudomonaceae, furthermore preferably from the genus Xanthomonas, most preferably the nucleic acid is from Xanthomonas axonopodis.

Performance of the methods of the invention gives plants having enhanced yield-related traits. In particular performance of the methods of the invention gives plants having increased yield, especially increased biomass and/or increased seed yield relative to control plants. The terms “yield” and “seed yield” are described in more detail in the “definitions” section herein.

Reference herein to enhanced yield-related traits is taken to mean an increase in biomass (weight) of one or more parts of a plant, which may include aboveground (harvestable) parts and/or (harvestable) parts below ground. In particular, such harvestable parts are seeds, and performance of the methods of the invention results in plants having increased seed yield relative to the seed yield of suitable control plants.

Taking corn as an example, a yield increase may be manifested as one or more of the following: increase in the number of plants established per hectare or acre, an increase in the number of ears per plant, an increase in the number of rows, number of kernels per row, kernel weight, thousand kernel weight, ear length/diameter, increase in the seed filling rate (which is the number of filled seeds divided by the total number of seeds and multiplied by 100), among others. Taking rice as an example, a yield increase may manifest itself as an increase in one or more of the following: number of plants per hectare or acre, number of panicles per plant, number of spikelets per panicle, number of flowers (florets) per panicle (which is expressed as a ratio of the number of filled seeds over the number of primary panicles), increase in the seed filling rate (which is the number of filled seeds divided by the total number of seeds and multiplied by 100), increase in thousand kernel weight, among others.

The present invention provides a method for increasing yield, especially biomass and/or seed yield of plants, relative to control plants, which method comprises modulating expression, preferably increasing expression, in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined herein. It should be noted that the observed yield increase is not the result of increased biotic stress resistance.

Since the transgenic plants according to the present invention have increased yield, it is likely that these plants exhibit an increased growth rate (during at least part of their life cycle), relative to the growth rate of control plants at a corresponding stage in their life cycle. Besides the increased yield capacity, an increased efficiency of nutrient uptake may also contribute to the increase in yield. It is observed that the plants according to the present invention show a higher efficiency in nutrient uptake. Increased efficiency of nutrient uptake allows better growth of the plant.

The increased growth rate may be specific to one or more parts of a plant (including seeds), or may be throughout substantially the whole plant. Plants having an increased growth rate may have a shorter life cycle. The life cycle of a plant may be taken to mean the time needed to grow from a mature seed up to the stage where the plant has produced mature seeds, similar to the starting material. This life cycle may be influenced by factors such as early vigour, growth rate, greenness index, flowering time and speed of seed maturation. The increase in growth rate may take place at one or more stages in the life cycle of a plant or during substantially the whole plant life cycle. Increased growth rate during the early stages in the life cycle of a plant may reflect enhanced vigour. The increase in growth rate may alter the harvest cycle of a plant allowing plants to be sown later and/or harvested sooner than would otherwise be possible (a similar effect may be obtained with earlier flowering time). If the growth rate is sufficiently increased, it may allow for the further sowing of seeds of the same plant species (for example sowing and harvesting of rice plants followed by sowing and harvesting of further rice plants all within one conventional growing period). Similarly, if the growth rate is sufficiently increased, it may allow for the further sowing of seeds of different plants species (for example the sowing and harvesting of corn plants followed by, for example, the sowing and optional harvesting of soybean, potato or any other suitable plant). Harvesting additional times from the same rootstock in the case of some crop plants may also be possible. Altering the harvest cycle of a plant may lead to an increase in annual biomass production per acre (due to an increase in the number of times (say in a year) that any particular plant may be grown and harvested). An increase in growth rate may also allow for the cultivation of transgenic plants in a wider geographical area than their wild-type counterparts, since the territorial limitations for growing a crop are often determined by adverse environmental conditions either at the time of planting (early season) or at the time of harvesting (late season). Such adverse conditions may be avoided if the harvest cycle is shortened. The growth rate may be determined by deriving various parameters from growth curves, such parameters may be: T-Mid (the time taken for plants to reach 50% of their maximal size) and T-90 (time taken for plants to reach 90% of their maximal size), amongst others.

According to a preferred feature of the present invention, performance of the methods of the invention gives plants having an increased growth rate relative to control plants. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for increasing the growth rate of plants, which method comprises modulating expression, preferably increasing expression, in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined herein. It should be noted that the observed increase in growth rate is not the result of biotic stress resistance.

An increase in yield and/or growth rate occurs whether the plant is under non-stress conditions or whether the plant is exposed to various abiotic stresses compared to control plants. Plants typically respond to exposure to abiotic stress by growing more slowly. In conditions of severe stress, the plant may even stop growing altogether. Mild stress on the other hand is defined herein as being any stress to which a plant is exposed which does not result in the plant ceasing to grow altogether without the capacity to resume growth. Mild stress in the sense of the invention leads to a reduction in the growth of the stressed plants of less than 40%, 35% or 30%, preferably less than 25%, 20% or 15%, more preferably less than 14%, 13%, 12%, 11% or 10% or less in comparison to the control plant under non-stress conditions. Due to advances in agricultural practices (irrigation, fertilization, pesticide treatments) severe stresses are not often encountered in cultivated crop plants. As a consequence, the compromised growth induced by mild stress is often an undesirable feature for agriculture. The term “mild stresses” are the everyday abiotic (environmental) stresses to which a plant is exposed. Abiotic stresses may be due to drought or excess water, anaerobic stress, salt stress, chemical toxicity, oxidative stress and hot, cold or freezing temperatures. The abiotic stress may be an osmotic stress caused by a water stress (particularly due to drought), salt stress, oxidative stress or an ionic stress.

The term “abiotic stress” as defined herein is taken to mean any one or more of: water stress (due to drought or excess water), anaerobic stress, salt stress, temperature stress (due to hot, cold or freezing temperatures), chemical toxicity stress and oxidative stress. According to one aspect of the invention, the abiotic stress is an osmotic stress, selected from water stress, salt stress, oxidative stress and ionic stress. Preferably, the water stress is drought stress. The term salt stress is not restricted to common salt (NaCl), but may be any one or more of: NaCl, KCl, LiCl, MgCl₂, CaCl₂, amongst others.

Another example of abiotic environmental stress is the reduced availability of one or more nutrients that need to be assimilated by the plants for growth and development. Because of the strong influence of nutrition utilization efficiency on plant yield and product quality, a huge amount of fertilizer is poured onto fields to optimize plant growth and quality. Productivity of plants ordinarily is limited by three primary nutrients, phosphorous, potassium and nitrogen, which is usually the rate-limiting element in plant growth of these three. Therefore the major nutritional element required for plant growth is nitrogen (N). It is a constituent of numerous important compounds found in living cells, including amino acids, proteins (enzymes), nucleic acids, and chlorophyll. 1.5% to 2% of plant dry matter is nitrogen and approximately 16% of total plant protein. Thus, nitrogen availability is a major limiting factor for crop plant growth and production (Frink et al. (1999) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 96 (4): 1175-1180), and has as well a major impact on protein accumulation and amino acid composition. Therefore, of great interest are crop plants with an increased yield when grown under nitrogen-limiting conditions.

Biotic stresses are typically those stresses caused by pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, nematodes and insects.

In particular, the methods of the present invention may be performed under non-stress conditions or under conditions of drought to give plants having increased yield relative to control plants. As reported in Wang et al. (Planta (2003) 218: 1-14), abiotic stress leads to a series of morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular changes that adversely affect plant growth and productivity. Drought, salinity, extreme temperatures and oxidative stress are known to be interconnected and may induce growth and cellular damage through similar mechanisms. Rabbani et al. (Plant Physiol (2003) 133: 1755-1767) describes a particularly high degree of “cross talk” between drought stress and high-salinity stress. For example, drought and/or salinisation are manifested primarily as osmotic stress, resulting in the disruption of homeostasis and ion distribution in the cell. Oxidative stress, which frequently accompanies high or low temperature, salinity or drought stress, may cause denaturing of functional and structural proteins. As a consequence, these diverse environmental stresses often activate similar cell signalling pathways and cellular responses, such as the production of stress proteins, up-regulation of anti-oxidants, accumulation of compatible solutes and growth arrest.

The term “non-stress” conditions as used herein are those environmental conditions that allow optimal growth of plants. Persons skilled in the art are aware of normal soil conditions and climatic conditions for any given location.

Performance of the methods of the invention gives plants, grown under non-stress conditions or under drought stress conditions, increased yield relative to suitable control plants grown under comparable conditions. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for increasing yield in plants grown under non-stress conditions or under drought conditions, which method comprises increasing expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide.

Furthermore, performance of the methods of the invention gives plants grown under conditions of nutrient deficiency, particularly under conditions of nitrogen deficiency, increased yield relative to control plants grown under comparable conditions. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is also provided a method for increasing yield in plants grown under conditions of nutrient deficiency, which method comprises increasing expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide.

Performance of the methods of the invention also gives plants having increased plant vigour relative to control plants, particularly during the early stages of plant development (typically three, four weeks post germination in the case of rice and maize, but this will vary from species to species) leading to early vigour. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for increasing the plant early vigour, which method comprises modulating, preferably increasing, expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a HpaG polypeptide. Preferably the increase in seedling vigour is achieved by expressing the nucleic acid encoding the HpaG polypeptide under the control of a shoot specific promoter. There is also provided a method for producing plants having early vigour relative to control plants, which method comprises modulating, preferably increasing, expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a HpaG polypeptide.

Early vigour may also result from increased plant fitness due to, for example, the plants being better adapted to their environment (i.e. optimizing the use of energy resources and partitioning between shoot and root). Plants having early vigour also show increase seedling survival and a better establishment of the crop, which often results in highly uniform fields (with the crop growing in uniform manner, i.e. with the majority of plants reaching the various stages of development at substantially the same time), and often better and higher yield. Therefore, early vigour may be determined by measuring various factors, such as thousand kernel weight, percentage germination, percentage emergence, seedling growth, seedling height, root length, root and shoot biomass and many more.

The present invention encompasses plants or parts thereof (including seeds) obtainable by the methods according to the present invention. The plants or parts thereof comprise a nucleic acid transgene encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined above.

The invention also provides genetic constructs and vectors to facilitate introduction and/or expression in plants of nucleic acids encoding HpaG polypeptides. The gene constructs may be inserted into vectors, which may be commercially available, suitable for transforming into plants and suitable for expression of the gene of interest in the transformed cells. The invention also provides use of a gene construct as defined herein in the methods of the invention.

More specifically, the present invention provides a construct comprising:

-   -   (a) a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined         above;     -   (b) one or more control sequences capable of driving expression         of the nucleic acid sequence of (a); and optionally     -   (c) a transcription termination sequence.

Preferably, the HpaG encoding nucleic acid is

-   -   (i) a nucleic acid as presented by SEQ ID NO: 1 or the         complement thereof,     -   (ii) a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined         above.

The term “control sequence” and “termination sequence” are as defined herein.

Plants are transformed with a vector comprising any of the nucleic acids described above. The skilled artisan is well aware of the genetic elements that must be present on the vector in order to successfully transform, select and propagate host cells containing the sequence of interest. The sequence of interest is operably linked to one or more control sequences (at least to a promoter).

Advantageously, any type of promoter, whether natural or synthetic, may be used to drive expression of the nucleic acid sequence. A constitutive promoter or a green tissue specific promoter is particularly useful in the methods. See the “Definitions” section herein for definitions of the various promoter types.

Preferably, the HpaG nucleic acid or variant thereof is operably linked to a constitutive promoter. A preferred constitutive promoter is one that is also substantially ubiquitously expressed. Further preferably the promoter is derived from a plant, more preferably a monocotyledonous plant. Most preferred is use of a GOS2 promoter (from rice) (SEQ ID NO: 5). It should be clear that the applicability of the present invention is not restricted to the HpaG nucleic acid represented by SEQ ID NO: 1, nor is the applicability of the invention restricted to expression of a HpaG nucleic acid when driven by a GOS2 promoter. Examples of other constitutive promoters which may also be used to drive expression of an HpaG nucleic acid are shown in Table 2a in the Definitions section herein.

Preferably, the consecutive promoter is of medium strength and has weaker activity than the CaMV 35S promoter.

Alternatively, the HpaG nucleic acid or variant thereof is operably linked to a green tissue-specific promoter. A green tissue-specific promoter as defined herein is a promoter that is transcriptionally active predominantly in green tissue, substantially to the exclusion of any other parts of a plant, whilst still allowing for any leaky expression in these other plant parts. The green tissue-specific promoter is preferably a protochlorophylid reductase promoter, more preferably the protochlorophylid reductase promoter represented by a nucleic acid sequence substantially similar to SEQ ID NO: 6, most preferably the promoter is as represented by SEQ ID NO: 6. It should be clear that the applicability of the present invention is not restricted to the HpaG encoding nucleic acid represented by SEQ ID NO: 1, nor is the applicability of the invention restricted to expression of such a HpaG encoding nucleic acid when driven by a protochlorophylid reductase promoter. Examples of other green tissue-specific promoters which may also be used to perform the methods of the invention are shown in the definitions section herein.

For the identification of functionally equivalent promoters, the promoter strength and/or expression pattern of a candidate promoter may be analysed for example by operably linking the promoter to a reporter gene and assaying the expression level and pattern of the reporter gene in various tissues of the plant. Suitable well-known reporter genes include for example beta-glucuronidase or beta galactosidase. The promoter activity is assayed by measuring the enzymatic activity of the beta-glucuronidase or beta-galactosidase. The promoter strength and/or expression pattern may then be compared to that of a reference promoter (such as the one used in the methods of the present invention). Alternatively, promoter strength may be assayed by quantifying mRNA levels or by comparing mRNA levels of the nucleic acid used in the methods of the present invention, with mRNA levels of housekeeping genes such as 18S rRNA, using methods known in the art, such as Northern blotting with densitometric analysis of autoradiograms, quantitative real-time PCR or RT-PCR (Heid et al., 1996 Genome Methods 6: 986-994). Generally a “weak promoter” refers to a promoter that drives expression of a coding sequence at a low level. By “low level” is intended at levels of about 1/10,000 transcripts to about 1/100,000 transcripts, to about 1/500,0000 transcripts per cell. Conversely, a “strong promoter” drives expression of a coding sequence at high level, or at about 1/10 transcripts to about 1/100 transcripts to about 1/1,000 transcripts per cell.

Optionally, one or more terminator sequences may be used in the construct introduced into a plant. Additional regulatory elements may include transcriptional as well as translational enhancers. Those skilled in the art will be aware of terminator and enhancer sequences that may be suitable for use in performing the invention. Such sequences would be known or may readily be obtained by a person skilled in the art.

An intron sequence may also be added to the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) or in the coding sequence to increase the amount of the mature message that accumulates in the cytosol. Inclusion of a spliceable intron in the transcription unit in both plant and animal expression constructs has been shown to increase gene expression at both the mRNA and protein levels up to 1000-fold (Buchman and Berg, Mol. Cell Biol. 8:4395-4405 (1988); Callis et al., Genes Dev. 1:1183-1200 (1987)). Such intron enhancement of gene expression is typically greatest when placed near the 5′ end of the transcription unit. Use of the maize introns Adh1-S intron 1, 2, and 6, the Bronze-1 intron are known in the art. For general information, see The Maize Handbook, Chapter 116, Freeling and Walbot, Eds., Springer, N.Y. (1994).

Other control sequences (besides promoter, enhancer, silencer, intron sequences, 3′UTR and/or 5′UTR regions) may be protein and/or RNA stabilizing elements. Such sequences would be known or may readily be obtained by a person skilled in the art. Furthermore, the codon usage of the coding sequence to be inserted on the construct may be optimised with reference to the host cell into which the construct will be introduced. While the genetic code is degenerated, organisms tend to use a particular codon for an amino acid more than other codons for that same amino acid. Tables with preferred codon usage for various organisms are known in the art.

The genetic constructs of the invention may further include an origin of replication sequence that is required for maintenance and/or replication in a specific cell type. One example is when a genetic construct is required to be maintained in a bacterial cell as an episomal genetic element (e.g. plasmid or cosmid molecule). Preferred origins of replication include, but are not limited to, the f1-ori and colE1.

For the detection of the successful transfer of the nucleic acid sequences as used in the methods of the invention and/or selection of transgenic plants comprising these nucleic acids, it is advantageous to use marker genes (or reporter genes). Therefore, the genetic construct may optionally comprise a selectable marker gene. Selectable markers are described in more detail in the “definitions” section herein.

It is known that upon stable or transient integration of nucleic acids into plant cells, only a minority of the cells takes up the foreign DNA and, if desired, integrates it into its genome, depending on the expression vector used and the transfection technique used. To identify and select these integrants, a gene coding for a selectable marker (such as the ones described above) is usually introduced into the host cells together with the gene of interest. These markers can for example be used in mutants in which these genes are not functional by, for example, deletion by conventional methods. Furthermore, nucleic acid molecules encoding a selectable marker can be introduced into a host cell on the same vector that comprises the sequence encoding the polypeptides of the invention or used in the methods of the invention, or else in a separate vector. Cells which have been stably transfected with the introduced nucleic acid can be identified for example by selection (for example, cells which have integrated the selectable marker survive whereas the other cells die).

Since the marker genes, particularly genes for resistance to antibiotics and herbicides, are no longer required or are undesired in the transgenic host cell once the nucleic acids have been introduced successfully, the process according to the invention for introducing the nucleic acids advantageously employs techniques which enable the removal or excision of these marker genes. One such a method is what is known as co-transformation. The co-transformation method employs two vectors simultaneously for the transformation, one vector bearing the nucleic acid according to the invention and a second bearing the marker gene(s). A large proportion of transformants receives or, in the case of plants, comprises (up to 40% or more of the transformants), both vectors. In case of transformation with Agrobacteria, the transformants usually receive only a part of the vector, i.e. the sequence flanked by the T-DNA, which usually represents the expression cassette. The marker genes can subsequently be removed from the transformed plant by performing crosses. In another method, marker genes integrated into a transposon are used for the transformation together with desired nucleic acid (known as the Ac/Ds technology). The transformants can be crossed with a transposase source or the transformants are transformed with a nucleic acid construct conferring expression of a transposase, transiently or stable. In some cases (approx. 10%), the transposon jumps out of the genome of the host cell once transformation has taken place successfully and is lost. In a further number of cases, the transposon jumps to a different location. In these cases the marker gene must be eliminated by performing crosses. In microbiology, techniques were developed which make possible, or facilitate, the detection of such events. A further advantageous method relies on what is known as recombination systems; whose advantage is that elimination by crossing can be dispensed with. The best-known system of this type is what is known as the Cre/lox system. Cre1 is a recombinase that removes the sequences located between the loxP sequences. If the marker gene is integrated between the loxP sequences, it is removed once transformation has taken place successfully, by expression of the recombinase. Further recombination systems are the HIN/HIX, FLP/FRT and REP/STB system (Tribble et al., J. Biol. Chem., 275, 2000: 22255-22267; Velmurugan et al., J. Cell Biol., 149, 2000: 553-566). A site-specific integration into the plant genome of the nucleic acid sequences according to the invention is possible. Naturally, these methods can also be applied to microorganisms such as yeast, fungi or bacteria.

The invention also provides a method for the production of transgenic plants having enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants, comprising introduction and expression in a plant of any nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined hereinabove.

More specifically, the present invention provides a method for the production of transgenic plants having increased enhanced yield-related traits, particularly increased biomass and/or seed yield, which method comprises:

-   -   (i) introducing and expressing in a plant or plant cell an HpaG         polypeptide-encoding nucleic acid; and     -   (ii) cultivating the plant cell under conditions promoting plant         growth and development.

The nucleic acid of (i) may be any of the nucleic acids capable of encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined herein.

The nucleic acid may be introduced directly into a plant cell or into the plant itself (including introduction into a tissue, organ or any other part of a plant). According to a preferred feature of the present invention, the nucleic acid is preferably introduced into a plant by transformation. The term “transformation” is described in more detail in the “definitions” section herein.

The genetically modified plant cells can be regenerated via all methods with which the skilled worker is familiar. Suitable methods can be found in the abovementioned publications by S. D. Kung and R. Wu, Potrykus or Höfgen and Willmitzer.

Generally after transformation, plant cells or cell groupings are selected for the presence of one or more markers which are encoded by plant-expressible genes co-transferred with the gene of interest, following which the transformed material is regenerated into a whole plant. To select transformed plants, the plant material obtained in the transformation is, as a rule, subjected to selective conditions so that transformed plants can be distinguished from untransformed plants. For example, the seeds obtained in the above-described manner can be planted and, after an initial growing period, subjected to a suitable selection by spraying. A further possibility consists in growing the seeds, if appropriate after sterilization, on agar plates using a suitable selection agent so that only the transformed seeds can grow into plants. Alternatively, the transformed plants are screened for the presence of a selectable marker such as the ones described above.

Following DNA transfer and regeneration, putatively transformed plants may also be evaluated, for instance using Southern analysis, for the presence of the gene of interest, copy number and/or genomic organisation. Alternatively or additionally, expression levels of the newly introduced DNA may be monitored using Northern and/or Western analysis, both techniques being well known to persons having ordinary skill in the art.

The generated transformed plants may be propagated by a variety of means, such as by clonal propagation or classical breeding techniques. For example, a first generation (or T1) transformed plant may be selfed and homozygous second-generation (or T2) transformants selected, and the T2 plants may then further be propagated through classical breeding techniques.

The generated transformed organisms may take a variety of forms. For example, they may be chimeras of transformed cells and non-transformed cells; clonal transformants (e.g., all cells transformed to contain the expression cassette); grafts of transformed and untransformed tissues (e.g., in plants, a transformed rootstock grafted to an untransformed scion).

The present invention clearly extends to any plant cell or plant produced by any of the methods described herein, and to all plant parts and propagules thereof. The present invention extends further to encompass the progeny of a primary transformed or transfected cell, tissue, organ or whole plant that has been produced by any of the aforementioned methods, the only requirement being that progeny exhibit the same genotypic and/or phenotypic characteristic(s) as those produced by the parent in the methods according to the invention.

The invention also includes host cells containing an isolated nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined hereinabove. Preferred host cells according to the invention are plant cells. Host plants for the nucleic acids or the vector used in the method according to the invention, the expression cassette or construct or vector are, in principle, advantageously all plants, which are capable of synthesizing the polypeptides used in the inventive method.

The methods of the invention are advantageously applicable to any plant.

Plants that are particularly useful in the methods of the invention include all plants which belong to the superfamily Viridiplantae, in particular monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants including fodder or forage legumes, ornamental plants, food crops, trees or shrubs. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plant is a crop plant. Examples of crop plants include soybean, sunflower, canola, alfalfa, rapeseed, cotton, tomato, potato and tobacco. Further preferably, the plant is a monocotyledonous plant. Examples of monocotyledonous plants include sugarcane. More preferably the plant is a cereal. Examples of cereals include rice, maize, wheat, barley, millet, triticale, rye, sorghum and oats.

The invention also extends to harvestable parts of a plant such as, but not limited to seeds, leaves, fruits, flowers, stems, rhizomes, tubers and bulbs. The invention furthermore relates to products derived, preferably directly derived, from a harvestable part of such a plant, such as dry pellets or powders, oil, fat and fatty acids, starch or proteins.

According to a preferred feature of the invention, the modulated expression is increased expression. Methods for increasing expression of nucleic acids or genes, or gene products, are well documented in the art and include, for example, overexpression driven by appropriate promoters, the use of transcription enhancers or translation enhancers. Isolated nucleic acids which serve as promoter or enhancer elements may be introduced in an appropriate position (typically upstream) of a non-heterologous form of a polynucleotide so as to upregulate expression. For example, endogenous promoters may be altered in vivo by mutation, deletion, and/or substitution (see, Kmiec, U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,350; Zarling et al., PCT/US93/03868), or isolated promoters may be introduced into a plant cell in the proper orientation and distance from a gene of the present invention so as to control the expression of the gene.

If polypeptide expression is desired, it is generally desirable to include a polyadenylation region at the 3′-end of a polynucleotide coding region. The polyadenylation region can be derived from the natural gene, from a variety of other plant genes, or from T-DNA. The 3′ end sequence to be added may be derived from, for example, the nopaline synthase or octopine synthase genes, or alternatively from another plant gene, or less preferably from any other eukaryotic gene.

The present invention also encompasses use of nucleic acids encoding HpaG polypeptides as described herein and use of these HpaG polypeptide in enhancing any of the aforementioned yield-related traits in plants.

The methods according to the present invention result in plants having enhanced yield-related traits, as described hereinbefore. These traits may also be combined with other economically advantageous traits, such as further yield-enhancing traits, tolerance to other abiotic and biotic stresses, traits modifying various architectural features and/or biochemical and/or physiological features.

II. SNF2

According to a first embodiment, the present invention provides a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants relative to control plants, comprising increasing expression in a plant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide.

A preferred method for increasing expression of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide is by introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide.

Any reference hereinafter to a “protein useful in the methods of the invention” is taken to mean an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined herein. Any reference hereinafter to a “nucleic acid sequence useful in the methods of the invention” is taken to mean a nucleic acid sequence capable of encoding such an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide. The nucleic acid sequence to be introduced into a plant (and therefore useful in performing the methods of the invention) is any nucleic acid sequence encoding the type of protein, which will now be described, hereafter also named “SWI2/SNF2 nucleic acid sequence” or “SWI2/SNF2 gene”.

An “SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide” as defined herein refers to any polypeptide which comprises an ATPase domain comprising from N-terminus to C-terminus at least five, preferably six, more preferably seven, most preferably eight of the following motifs:

-   -   (i) Motif I LADDMGLGK(T/S), as represented by SEQ ID NO: 103 or         a motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%,         55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more         sequence identity to the sequence of Motif I;     -   (ii) Motif Ia L(L/V/I)(V/I/L)(A/C)P(T/M/V)S(V/I/L)(V/I/L)XNW, as         represented by SEQ ID NO: 104 or a motif having in increasing         order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%,         85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the         sequence of Motif Ia;     -   (iii) Motif II DEAQ(N/A/H)(V/I/L)KN, as represented by SEQ ID         NO: 105 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at         least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99%         or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif II;     -   (iv) Motif III A(L/M)TGTPXEN, as represented by SEQ ID NO: 106         or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least         50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or         more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif III;     -   (v) Motif IV (L/I)XF(T/S)Q(F/Y), as represented by SEQ ID NO:         107 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least         50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or         more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif IV;     -   (vi) Motif V S(L/V)KAGG(V/T/L)G(L/I)(N/T)LTXA(N/S/T)HV, as         represented by SEQ ID NO: 108 or a motif having in increasing         order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%,         85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the         sequence of Motif V;     -   (vii) Motif Va DRWWNPAVE, as represented by SEQ ID NO: 109 or a         motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%,         55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more         sequence identity to the sequence of Motif Va; and     -   (viii) Motif VI QA(T/S)DR(A/T/V)(F/Y)R(I/L)GQ, as represented by         SEQ ID NO: 110 or a motif having in increasing order of         preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%,         95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif         VI,

where X in Motif Ia, Motif III, Motif IV, and Motif V, is any amino acid.

Alternatively or additionally, an “SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide” as defined herein refers to any polypeptide sequence which when used in the construction of a phylogenetic tree, such as the one depicted in FIG. 7 (described in Flaus et al. (2006), supra), tends to cluster with the SSO1653 clade of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides comprising the polypeptide sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30, rather than with any other SWI2/SNF2 clade.

Alternatively or additionally, an “SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide” as defined herein refers to any polypeptide sequence comprising an ATPase domain having in increasing order of preference at least 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the ATPase domain as represented by SEQ ID NO: 111, comprised in SEQ ID NO: 30.

Alternatively or additionally, an “SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide” as defined herein refers to any polypeptide having in increasing order of preference at least 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30 or to any of the polypeptide sequences given in Table E herein.

The terms “domain” and “motif” are defined in the “definitions” section herein. Specialist databases exist for the identification of domains, for example, SMART (Schultz et al. (1998) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 5857-5864; Letunic et al. (2002) Nucleic Acids Res 30, 242-244), InterPro (Mulder et al., (2003) Nucl. Acids. Res. 31, 315-318, Prosite (Bucher and Bairoch (1994), A generalized profile syntax for biomolecular sequences motifs and its function in automatic sequence interpretation. (In) ISMB-94; Proceedings 2nd International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology. Altman R., Brutlag D., Karp P., Lathrop R., Searls D., Eds., pp 53-61, AAAI Press, Menlo Park; Hulo et al., (2004) Nucl. Acids. Res. 32: D134-D137), or Pfam (Bateman et al., (2002) Nucleic Acids Research 30 (1): 276-280). A set of tools for in silico analysis of protein sequences is available on the ExPASY proteomics server (hosted by the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (Gasteiger et al., (2003) ExPASy: the proteomics server for in-depth protein knowledge and analysis, Nucleic Acids Res 31: 3784-3788). Domains may also be identified using routine techniques, such as by sequence alignment. Analysis of the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 30 is presented below in Examples 9 and 11.

Methods for the alignment of sequences for comparison are well known in the art, such methods include GAP, BESTFIT, BLAST, FASTA and TFASTA. GAP uses the algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch ((1970) J Mol Biol 48: 443-453) to find the global (i.e. spanning the complete sequences) alignment of two sequences that maximizes the number of matches and minimizes the number of gaps. The BLAST algorithm (Altschul et al. (1990) J Mol Biol 215: 403-10) calculates percent sequence identity and performs a statistical analysis of the similarity between the two sequences. The software for performing BLAST analysis is publicly available through the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Homologues may readily be identified using, for example, the ClustalW multiple sequence alignment algorithm (version 1.83), with the default pairwise alignment parameters, and a scoring method in percentage. Global percentages of similarity and identity may also be determined using one of the methods available in the MatGAT software package (Campanella et al., BMC Bioinformatics. 2003 Jul. 10; 4:29. MatGAT: an application that generates similarity/identity matrices using protein or DNA sequences.). Minor manual editing may be performed to optimise alignment between conserved motifs, as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art. Furthermore, instead of using full-length sequences for the identification of homologues, specific domains may also be used. The sequence identity values, which are indicated below in Example 3 as a percentage were determined over the entire nucleic acid or polypeptide sequence (Table F herein), and/or over selected domains (such as the ATPase domain as represented by SEQ ID NO: 111, comprised in SEQ ID NO: 30; Table F1 herein) or conserved motif(s), using the programs mentioned above using the default parameters.

The present invention is illustrated by transforming plants with the nucleic acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 29, encoding the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 30. However, performance of the invention is not restricted to these sequences; the methods of the invention may advantageously be performed using any SWI2/SNF2-encoding nucleic acid sequence or SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides as defined herein.

Examples of nucleic acid sequences encoding plant SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides are given in Table E of Example 8 herein. Such nucleic acid sequences are useful in performing the methods of the invention. The polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8 are example sequences of orthologues and paralogues of the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides represented by SEQ ID NO: 30, the terms “orthologues” and “paralogues” being as defined herein. Further orthologues and paralogues may readily be identified by performing a so-called reciprocal blast search. Typically, this involves a first BLAST involving BLASTing a query sequence (for example using any of the sequences listed in Table E of Example 8) against any sequence database, such as the publicly available NCBI database. BLASTN or TBLASTX (using standard default values) are generally used when starting from a nucleotide sequence, and BLASTP or TBLASTN (using standard default values) when starting from a protein sequence. The BLAST results may optionally be filtered. The full-length sequences of either the filtered results or non-filtered results are then BLASTed back (second BLAST) against sequences from the organism from which the query sequence is derived (where the query sequence is SEQ ID NO: 29 or SEQ ID NO: 30, the second BLAST would therefore be against Synechocystis sequences). The results of the first and second BLASTs are then compared. A paralogue is identified if a high-ranking hit from the first blast is from the same species as from which the query sequence is derived, a BLAST back then ideally results in the query sequence amongst the highest hits; an orthologue is identified if a high-ranking hit in the first BLAST is not from the same species as from which the query sequence is derived, and preferably results upon BLAST back in the query sequence being among the highest hits.

High-ranking hits are those having a low E-value. The lower the E-value, the more significant the score (or in other words the lower the chance that the hit was found by chance). Computation of the E-value is well known in the art. In addition to E-values, comparisons are also scored by percentage identity. Percentage identity refers to the number of identical nucleotides (or amino acids) between the two compared nucleic acid (or polypeptide) sequences over a particular length. In the case of large families, ClustalW may be used, followed by a neighbour joining tree, to help visualize clustering of related genes and to identify orthologues and paralogues (see FIG. 7).

Nucleic acid variants may also be useful in practising the methods of the invention. Examples of such variants include nucleic acid sequences encoding homologues and derivatives of any one of the polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8, the terms “homologue” and “derivative” being as defined herein. Also useful in the methods of the invention are nucleic acid sequences encoding homologues and derivatives of orthologues or paralogues of any one of the polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8. Homologues and derivatives useful in the methods of the present invention have substantially the same biological and functional activity as the unmodified protein from which they are derived.

Further nucleic acid variants useful in practising the methods of the invention include portions of nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides, nucleic acid sequences hybridising to nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides, splice variants of nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides, allelic variants of nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides, and variants of nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides obtained by gene shuffling. The terms hybridising sequence, splice variant, allelic variant and gene shuffling are as described herein.

Nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides need not be full-length nucleic acid sequences, since performance of the methods of the invention does not rely on the use of full-length nucleic acid sequences. According to the present invention, there is provided a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants, comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a portion of any one of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table E of Example 8, or a portion of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an orthologue, paralogue or homologue of any of the polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8.

A portion of a nucleic acid sequence may be prepared, for example, by making one or more deletions to the nucleic acid sequence. The portions may be used in isolated form or they may be fused to other coding (or non-coding) sequences in order to, for example, produce a protein that combines several activities. When fused to other coding sequences, the resultant polypeptide produced upon translation may be bigger than that predicted for the protein portion.

Portions useful in the methods of the invention, encode SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides as defined herein, and have substantially the same biological activity (i.e., enhancing yield-related traits) as the polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8. Preferably, the portion is a portion of any one of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table E of Example 8, or is a portion of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an orthologue or paralogue of any one of the polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8. Preferably the portion is, in increasing order of preference at least 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300 or 1400 consecutive nucleotides in length, the consecutive nucleotides being of any one of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table E of Example 8, or of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an orthologue or paralogue of any one of the polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8. Most preferably the portion is a portion of the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 29. Preferably, the portion encodes a polypeptide sequence comprising any one or more of the domains or motifs defined herein. Preferably, the portion encodes a polypeptide sequence which when used in the construction of a phylogenetic tree, such as the one depicted in FIG. 7, tends to cluster with the SSO1653 clade of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides comprising the polypeptide sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30 rather than with any other SWI2/SNF2 clade.

Another nucleic acid variant useful in the methods of the invention is a nucleic acid sequence capable of hybridising, under reduced stringency conditions, preferably under stringent conditions, with a nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined herein, or with a portion as defined herein.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants, comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid sequence capable of hybridizing to any one of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table E of Example 8, or comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid sequence capable of hybridising to a nucleic acid sequence encoding an orthologue, paralogue or homologue of any of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table E of Example 8.

Hybridising sequences useful in the methods of the invention encode a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined herein, and have substantially the same biological activity (i.e., enhancing yield-related traits) as the polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8. Preferably, the hybridising sequence is capable of hybridising to any one of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table E of Example 8, or to a portion of any of these sequences, a portion being as defined above, or wherein the hybridising sequence is capable of hybridising to a nucleic acid sequence encoding an orthologue or paralogue of any one of the polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8. Most preferably, the hybridising sequence is capable of hybridising to a nucleic acid sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 29 or to a portion thereof. Preferably, the hybridising sequence encodes a polypeptide sequence comprising any one or more of the motifs or domains as defined herein. Preferably, the hybridising sequence encodes a polypeptide sequence which when used in the construction of a phylogenetic tree, such as the one depicted in FIG. 7, tends to cluster with the SSO1653 clade of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides comprising the polypeptide sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30 rather than with any other SWI2/SNF2 clade.

Another nucleic acid variant useful in the methods of the invention is a splice variant encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined hereinabove, a splice variant being as defined herein.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for enhancing yield related traits in plants, comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a splice variant of any one of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table E of Example 8, or a splice variant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an orthologue, paralogue or homologue of any of the polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8.

The splice variants useful in the methods of the present invention have substantially the same biological activity (i.e., enhancing yield-related traits) as the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 30 and any of the polypeptide sequences depicted in Table E of Example 8. Preferably, the polypeptide sequence encoded by the splice variant comprises any one or more of the motifs or domains as defined herein. Preferably, the polypeptide sequence encoded by the splice variant, when used in the construction of a phylogenetic tree, such as the one depicted in FIG. 7, tends to cluster with the SSO1653 clade of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides comprising the polypeptide sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30 rather than with any other SWI2/SNF2 clade.

Another nucleic acid variant useful in performing the methods of the invention is an allelic variant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined hereinabove, an allelic variant being as defined herein.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants, comprising introducing and expressing in a plant an allelic variant of any one of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table E of Example 8, or comprising introducing and expressing in a plant an allelic variant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an orthologue, paralogue or homologue of any of the polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8.

The allelic variants useful in the methods of the present invention have substantially the same biological activity (i.e., enhancing yield-related traits) as the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 30 and any of the polypeptide sequences depicted in Table E of Example 8. Allelic variants exist in nature, and encompassed within the methods of the present invention is the use of these natural alleles. Preferably, the allelic variant is an allelic variant of SEQ ID NO: 29 or an allelic variant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an orthologue or paralogue of SEQ ID NO: 30. Preferably, the polypeptide sequence encoded by the allelic variant comprises any one or more of the motifs or domains as defined herein. Preferably, the polypeptide sequence encoded by the allelic variant, when used in the construction of a phylogenetic tree, such as the one depicted in FIG. 7, tends to cluster with the SSO1653 clade of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides comprising the polypeptide sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30 rather than with any other SWI2/SNF2 clade.

Gene shuffling or directed evolution may also be used to generate variants of nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides as defined above; the term “gene shuffling” being as defined herein.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants, comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a variant of any one of the nucleic acid sequences given in Table E of Example 8, or comprising introducing and expressing in a plant a variant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an orthologue, paralogue or homologue of any of the polypeptide sequences given in Table E of Example 8, which variant nucleic acid sequence is obtained by gene shuffling.

The variant nucleic acid sequences obtained by gene shuffling useful in the methods of the present invention have substantially the same biological activity as the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 30 and any of the polypeptide sequences depicted in Table E of Example 8. Preferably, the variant nucleic acid sequence obtained by gene shuffling encodes a polypeptide sequence comprising any one or more of the motifs or domains as defined herein. Preferably, the polypeptide sequence encoded by the variant nucleic acid sequence obtained by gene shuffling, when used in the construction of a phylogenetic tree, such as the one depicted in FIG. 7, tends to cluster with the SSO1653 clade of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides comprising the polypeptide sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30 rather than with any other SWI2/SNF2 clade.

Furthermore, nucleic acid variants may also be obtained by site-directed mutagenesis. Several methods are available to achieve site-directed mutagenesis, the most common being PCR based methods (Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Wiley Eds.).

Nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides may be derived from any natural or artificial source. The nucleic acid sequence may be modified from its native form in composition and/or genomic environment through deliberate human manipulation. Preferably the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide-encoding nucleic acid sequence is from a microbial genome, further preferably from archea (such from as the following phyla: Crenarcheaota, Euryarchaeota (comprising Halobacteria, Methanobacteria, Methanococci, Methanopyri, Archaeoglobi, Thermoplasmata, and Thermococci classes), Korarchaeota, or Nanoarchaeota) or bacteria (such from as the following phyla: Actinobacteria, Aquificae, Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi, Chlamydiae, Chloroflexi, Chrysiogenetes, Cyanobacteria, Deferribacteres, Deinococcus-Thermus, Dictyoglomi, Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Lentisphaerae, Nitrospirae, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria, Spirochaetes, Thermodesulfobacteria, Thermomicrobia, Thermotogae, Verrucomicrobia), more preferably from cyanobacteria, such as Synechocystis sp., Nostoc sp., Synechococcus sp., Prochiorococcus sp., Anaebena sp., Gloeobacter sp., or Thermosynechococcus sp., more preferably from Synechocystis sp., most preferably from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803.

Performance of the methods of the invention gives plants having enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants.

Reference herein to “enhanced yield-related traits” is taken to mean an increase in biomass (weight) of one or more parts of a plant, which may include aboveground (harvestable) parts and/or (harvestable) parts below ground. In particular, such harvestable parts are seeds, and performance of the methods of the invention results in plants having enhanced seed yield relative to control plants.

Taking corn as an example, a yield increase may be manifested as one or more of the following: increase in the number of plants established per hectare or acre, an increase in the number of ears per plant, an increase in the number of rows, number of kernels per row, kernel weight, thousand kernel weight, ear length/diameter, increase in the seed filling rate (which is the number of filled seeds divided by the total number of seeds and multiplied by 100), among others. Taking rice as an example, a yield increase may manifest itself as an increase in one or more of the following: number of plants per hectare or acre, number of panicles per plant, number of spikelets per panicle, number of flowers (florets) per panicle (which is expressed as a ratio of the number of filled seeds over the number of primary panicles), increase in the seed filling rate (which is the number of filled seeds divided by the total number of seeds and multiplied by 100), increase in thousand kernel weight, among others.

The present invention provides a method for enhancing yield-related traits of plants relative to control plants, which method comprises increasing expression in a plant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined herein. Preferably, enhanced yield-related traits is one or more of: (i) increased number of flowers per panicle; (ii) increased total seed weight per plant; (iii) increased number of (filled) seeds; or (iv) increased harvest index.

Since the transgenic plants according to the present invention have enhanced yield-related traits, it is likely that these plants exhibit an increased growth rate (during at least part of their life cycle), relative to the growth rate of control plants at a corresponding stage in their life cycle. Besides the increased yield capacity, an increased efficiency of nutrient uptake may also contribute to the increase in yield. It is observed that the plants according to the present invention show a higher efficiency in nutrient uptake. Increased efficiency of nutrient uptake allows better growth of the plant, whether the plant is grown under stress or non-stress conditions.

The increased growth rate may be specific to one or more parts of a plant (including seeds), or may be throughout substantially the whole plant. Plants having an increased growth rate may have a shorter life cycle. The life cycle of a plant may be taken to mean the time needed to grow from a dry mature seed up to the stage where the plant has produced dry mature seeds, similar to the starting material. This life cycle may be influenced by factors such as early vigour, growth rate, greenness index, flowering time and speed of seed maturation. The increase in growth rate may take place at one or more stages in the life cycle of a plant or during substantially the whole plant life cycle. Increased growth rate during the early stages in the life cycle of a plant may reflect enhanced vigour. The increase in growth rate may alter the harvest cycle of a plant allowing plants to be sown later and/or harvested sooner than would otherwise be possible (a similar effect may be obtained with earlier flowering time). If the growth rate is sufficiently increased, it may allow for the further sowing of seeds of the same plant species (for example sowing and harvesting of rice plants followed by sowing and harvesting of further rice plants all within one conventional growing period). Similarly, if the growth rate is sufficiently increased, it may allow for the further sowing of seeds of different plants species (for example the sowing and harvesting of corn plants followed by, for example, the sowing and optional harvesting of soybean, potato or any other suitable plant). Harvesting additional times from the same rootstock in the case of some crop plants may also be possible. Altering the harvest cycle of a plant may lead to an increase in annual biomass production per acre (due to an increase in the number of times (say in a year) that any particular plant may be grown and harvested). An increase in growth rate may also allow for the cultivation of transgenic plants in a wider geographical area than their wild-type counterparts, since the territorial limitations for growing a crop are often determined by adverse environmental conditions either at the time of planting (early season) or at the time of harvesting (late season). Such adverse conditions may be avoided if the harvest cycle is shortened. The growth rate may be determined by deriving various parameters from growth curves, such

parameters may be: T-Mid (the time taken for plants to reach 50% of their maximal size) and T-90 (time taken for plants to reach 90% of their maximal size), amongst others.

According to a preferred feature of the present invention, performance of the methods of the invention gives plants having an increased growth rate relative to control plants. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for increasing the growth rate of plants, which method comprises increasing expression in a plant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined herein.

An increase in yield and/or growth occurs whether the plant is grown under non-stress conditions or whether the plant is exposed to various stresses compared to control plants. Plants typically respond to exposure to stress by growing more slowly. In conditions of severe stress, the plant may even stop growing altogether. Mild stress on the other hand is defined herein as being any stress to which a plant is exposed which does not result in the plant ceasing to grow altogether without the capacity to resume growth. Mild stress in the sense of the invention leads to a reduction in the growth of the stressed plants of less than 40%, 35% or 30%, preferably less than 25%, 20% or 15%, more preferably less than 14%, 13%, 12%, 11% or 10% or less in comparison to the control plant grown under non-stress conditions. Due to advances in agricultural practices (irrigation, fertilization, pesticide treatments) severe stresses are not often encountered in cultivated crop plants. As a consequence, the compromised growth induced by mild stress is often an undesirable feature for agriculture. Mild stresses are the everyday biotic and/or abiotic (environmental) stresses to which a plant is exposed. Abiotic stresses may be due to drought or excess water, anaerobic stress, salt stress, chemical toxicity, oxidative stress and hot, cold or freezing temperatures. The abiotic stress may be an osmotic stress caused by a water stress (particularly due to drought), salt stress, oxidative stress or an ionic stress. Biotic stresses are typically those stresses caused by pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, nematodes, and insects. The term “non-stress” conditions as used herein are preferably those environmental conditions that do not significantly go beyond the everyday climatic and other abiotic conditions that plants may encounter most preferably those conditions that allow optimal growth of plants. Persons skilled in the art are aware of normal soil conditions and climatic conditions for a given location.

Performance of the methods of the invention gives plants grown under non-stress conditions or under mild drought conditions having enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants grown under comparable stress conditions. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants grown under non-stress conditions or under mild drought conditions, which method comprises increasing expression in a plant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined above.

Performance of the methods according to the present invention results in plants grown under abiotic stress conditions having enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants grown under comparable stress conditions. As reported in Wang et al. (Planta (2003) 218: 1-14), abiotic stress leads to a series of morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular changes that adversely affect plant growth and productivity. Drought, salinity, extreme temperatures and oxidative stress are known to be interconnected and may induce growth and cellular damage through similar mechanisms. For example, drought and/or salinisation are manifested primarily as osmotic stress, resulting in the disruption of homeostasis and ion distribution in the cell. Oxidative stress, which frequently accompanies high or low temperature, salinity or drought stress may cause denaturation of functional and structural proteins. As a consequence, these diverse environmental stresses often activate similar cell signaling pathways and cellular responses, such as the production of stress proteins, up-regulation of anti-oxidants, accumulation of compatible solutes and growth arrest. Since diverse environmental stresses activate similar pathways, the exemplification of the present invention with drought stress should not be seen as a limitation to drought stress, but more as a screen to indicate the involvement of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides as defined above, in enhancing yield-related traits relative to control plants grown in comparable stress conditions, in abiotic stresses in general.

A particularly high degree of “cross talk” is reported between drought stress and high-salinity stress (Rabbani et al. (2003) Plant Physiol 133: 1755-1767). Therefore, it would be apparent that an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides would, along with their usefulness in enhancing yield-related traits in plants relative to control plants grown under drought stress conditions, also find use in enhancing yield-related traits in plants, relative to control plants grown under various other abiotic stress conditions.

The term “abiotic stress” as defined herein is taken to mean any one or more of: water stress (due to drought or excess water), anaerobic stress, salt stress, temperature stress (due to hot, cold or freezing temperatures), chemical toxicity stress and oxidative stress. According to one aspect of the invention, the abiotic stress is an osmotic stress, selected from water stress, salt stress, oxidative stress and ionic stress. Preferably, the water stress is drought stress. The term salt stress is not restricted to common salt (NaCl), but may be any one or more of: NaCl, KCl, LiCl, MgCl₂, CaCl₂, amongst others.

In particular, the enhanced yield-related traits in plants grown under abiotic stress conditions (preferably under drought stress conditions) relative to control plants grown in comparable stress conditions, may include one or more of the following: (i) increased aboveground area; (ii) increased total root biomass; (iii) increased thick root biomass; (iv) increased thin root biomass; (v) increased number of flowers per panicle; (vi) increased seed fill rate; (vii) increased total seed weight per plant; (viii) increased number of (filled) seeds; or (ix) increased harvest index.

Performance of the methods of the invention gives plants having enhanced yield-related traits under abiotic stress conditions relative to control plants grown in comparable stress conditions. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for enhanced yield-related traits in plants grown under abiotic stress conditions, which method comprises increasing expression in a plant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide. According to one aspect of the invention, the abiotic stress is an osmotic stress, selected from one or more of the following: water stress, salt stress, oxidative stress and ionic stress. Preferably, the water stress is drought stress.

Another example of abiotic environmental stress is the reduced availability of one or more nutrients that need to be assimilated by the plants for growth and development. Because of the strong influence of nutrition utilization efficiency on plant yield and product quality, a huge amount of fertilizer is poured onto fields to optimize plant growth and quality. Productivity of plants ordinarily is limited by three primary nutrients, phosphorous, potassium and nitrogen, which is usually the rate-limiting element in plant growth of these three. Therefore the major nutritional element required for plant growth is nitrogen (N). It is a constituent of numerous important compounds found in living cells, including amino acids, proteins (enzymes), nucleic acids, and chlorophyll. 1.5% to 2% of plant dry matter is nitrogen and approximately 16% of total plant protein. Thus, nitrogen availability is a major limiting factor for crop plant growth and production (Frink et al. (1999) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 96 (4): 1175-1180), and has as well a major impact on protein accumulation and amino acid composition. Therefore, of great interest are crop plants with an increased yield when grown under nitrogen-limiting conditions.

The present invention encompasses plants, parts thereof (including seeds), or plant cells obtainable by the methods according to the present invention. The plants, plant parts or plant cells comprise an isolated nucleic acid transgene encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined above.

The invention also provides genetic constructs and vectors to facilitate introduction and/or expression in plants of nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides. The gene constructs may be inserted into vectors, which may be commercially available, suitable for transforming into plants and suitable for expression of the gene of interest in the transformed cells. The invention also provides use of a gene construct as defined herein in the methods of the invention.

More specifically, the present invention provides a construct comprising:

-   -   (d) a nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as         defined above;     -   (e) one or more control sequences capable of driving expression         of the nucleic acid sequence of (a); and optionally     -   (f) a transcription termination sequence.

The term “control sequence” and “termination sequence” are as defined herein.

In one embodiment, one of the control sequences of a construct is a tissue-specific promoter, preferably a promoter for expression in young expanding tissues. An example of a tissue-specific promoter for expression in young expanding tissues is a beta-expansin promoter, for example a rice beta-expansin promoter as represented by SEQ ID NO: 112.

Plants are transformed with a vector comprising any of the nucleic acid sequences described above. The skilled artisan is well aware of the genetic elements that must be present on the vector in order to successfully transform, select and propagate host cells containing the sequence of interest. The sequence of interest is operably linked to one or more control sequences (at least to a promoter).

Advantageously, any type of promoter may be used to drive expression of the nucleic acid sequence. The promoter may be a constitutive promoter, which refers to a promoter that is transcriptionally active during most, but not necessarily all, phases of its growth and development and under most environmental conditions, in at least one cell, tissue or organ. Alternatively, the promoter may be an inducible promoter, i.e. having induced or increased transcription initiation in response to a chemical (for a review see Gatz 1997, Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol., 48:89-108), environmental or physical stimulus. Another example of an inducible promoter is a stress-inducible promoter, i.e. a promoter activated when a plant is exposed to various stress conditions, or a pathogen-induced promoter.

Additionally or alternatively, the promoter may be an organ-specific or tissue-specific promoter, i.e. one that is capable of preferentially initiating transcription in certain organs or tissues, such as the leaves, roots, seed tissue etc; or the promoter may be a ubiquitous promoter, which is active in substantially all tissues or cells of an organism, or the promoter may be developmentally regulated, thereby being active during certain developmental stages or in parts of the plant that undergo developmental changes. Promoters able to initiate transcription in certain organs or tissues only are referred to herein as “organ-specific” or “tissue-specific” respectively, similarly, promoters able to initiate transcription in certain cells only are referred to herein as “cell-specific”.

In one embodiment, a nucleic acid sequence encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined above, such as the nucleic acid sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 29, is operably linked to a tissue-specific promoter, preferably to a promoter capable of preferentially expressing the nucleic acid sequence in young expanding tissues, or in the apical meristem.

Preferably, the promoter capable of preferentially expressing the nucleic acid sequence in young expanding tissues has a comparable expression profile to a beta-expansin promoter. More specifically, the promoter capable of preferentially expressing the nucleic acid sequence in young expanding tissues is a promoter capable of driving expression in the cell expansion zone of a shoot or root. Most preferably, the promoter capable of preferentially expressing the nucleic acid sequence in young expanding tissues is a beta-expansin promoter, for example a rice beta-expansin promoter as represented by SEQ ID NO: 112.

For the identification of functionally equivalent promoters, the promoter strength and/or expression pattern of a candidate promoter may be analysed for example by operably linking the promoter to a reporter gene and assaying the expression level and pattern of the reporter gene in various tissues of the plant. Suitable well-known reporter genes include for example beta-glucuronidase or beta galactosidase. The promoter activity is assayed by measuring the enzymatic activity of the beta-glucuronidase or beta-galactosidase. The promoter strength and/or expression pattern may then be compared to that of a reference promoter (such as the one used in the methods of the present invention). Alternatively, promoter strength may be assayed by quantifying mRNA levels or by comparing mRNA levels of the nucleic acid sequence used in the methods of the present invention, with mRNA levels of housekeeping genes such as 18S rRNA, using methods known in the art, such as Northern blotting with densitometric analysis of autoradiograms, quantitative real-time PCR or RT-PCR (Heid et al., 1996 Genome Methods 6: 986-994). Generally by “weak promoter” is intended a promoter that drives expression of a coding sequence at a low level. By “low level” is intended at levels of about 1/10,000 transcripts to about 1/100,000 transcripts, to about 1/500,0000 transcripts per cell. Conversely, a “strong promoter” drives expression of a coding sequence at high level, or at about 1/10 transcripts to about 1/100 transcripts to about 1/1,000 transcripts per cell.

Optionally, one or more terminator sequences may be used in the construct introduced into a plant. Additional regulatory elements may include transcriptional as well as translational enhancers. Those skilled in the art will be aware of terminator and enhancer sequences that may be suitable for use in performing the invention. Such sequences would be known or may readily be obtained by a person skilled in the art.

An intron sequence may also be added to the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) or in the coding sequence to increase the amount of the mature message that accumulates in the cytosol. Inclusion of a spliceable intron in the transcription unit in both plant and animal expression constructs has been shown to increase gene expression at both the mRNA and protein levels up to 1000-fold (Buchman and Berg, Mol. Cell Biol. 8:4395-4405 (1988); Callis et al., Genes Dev. 1:1183-1200 (1987)). Such intron enhancement of gene expression is typically greatest when placed near the 5′ end of the transcription unit. Use of the maize introns Adh1-S intron 1, 2, and 6, the Bronze-1 intron are known in the art. For general information, see The Maize Handbook, Chapter 116, Freeling and Walbot, Eds., Springer, N.Y. (1994).

Other control sequences (besides promoter, enhancer, silencer, intron sequences, 3′UTR and/or 5′UTR regions) may be protein and/or RNA stabilizing elements. Such sequences would be known or may readily be obtained by a person skilled in the art.

The genetic constructs of the invention may further include an origin of replication sequence that is required for maintenance and/or replication in a specific cell type. One example is when a genetic construct is required to be maintained in a bacterial cell as an episomal genetic element (e.g. plasmid or cosmid molecule). Preferred origins of replication include, but are not limited to, the f1-on and colE1.

For the detection of the successful transfer of the nucleic acid sequences as used in the methods of the invention and/or selection of transgenic plants comprising these nucleic acid sequences, it is advantageous to use marker genes (or reporter genes). Therefore, the genetic construct may optionally comprise a selectable marker gene. Selectable markers are described in more detail in the “definitions” section herein.

It is known that upon stable or transient integration of nucleic acid sequences into plant cells, only a minority of the cells takes up the foreign DNA and, if desired, integrates it into its genome, depending on the expression vector used and the transfection technique used. To identify and select these integrants, a gene coding for a selectable marker (such as the ones described above) is usually introduced into the host cells together with the gene of interest. These markers can for example be used in mutants in which these genes are not functional by, for example, deletion by conventional methods. Furthermore, nucleic acid sequences encoding a selectable marker can be introduced into a host cell on the same vector that comprises the sequence encoding the polypeptides of the invention or used in the methods of the invention, or else in a separate vector. Cells which have been stably transfected with the introduced nucleic acid sequence can be identified for example by selection (for example, cells which have integrated the selectable marker survive whereas the other cells die).

Since the marker genes, particularly genes for resistance to antibiotics and herbicides, are no longer required or are undesired in the transgenic host cell once the nucleic acid sequences have been introduced successfully, the process according to the invention for introducing the nucleic acid sequences advantageously employs techniques, which enable the removal or excision of these marker genes. One such a method is what is known as co-transformation. The co-transformation method employs two vectors simultaneously for the transformation, one vector bearing the nucleic acid sequence according to the invention and a second bearing the marker gene(s). A large proportion of transformants receives or, in the case of plants, comprises (up to 40% or more of the transformants), both vectors. In case of transformation with Agrobacteria, the transformants usually receive only a part of the vector, i.e. the sequence flanked by the T-DNA, which usually represents the expression cassette. The marker genes can subsequently be removed from the transformed plant by performing crosses. In another method, marker genes integrated into a transposon are used for the transformation together with desired nucleic acid sequence (known as the Ac/Ds technology). The transformants can be crossed with a transposase source or the transformants are transformed with a nucleic acid construct conferring expression of a transposase, transiently or stable. In some cases (approx. 10%), the transposon jumps out of the genome of the host cell once transformation has taken place successfully and is lost. In a further number of cases, the transposon jumps to a different location. In these cases the marker gene must be eliminated by performing crosses. In microbiology, techniques were developed which make possible, or facilitate, the detection of such events. A further advantageous method relies on what is known as recombination systems; whose advantage is that elimination by crossing can be dispensed with. The best-known system of this type is what is known as the Cre/lox system. Cre1 is a recombinase that removes the sequences located between the loxP sequences. If the marker gene is integrated between the loxP sequences, it is removed once transformation has taken place successfully, by expression of the recombinase. Further recombination systems are the HIN/HIX, FLP/FRT and REP/STB system (Tribble et al., J. Biol. Chem., 275, 2000: 22255-22267; Velmurugan et al., J. Cell Biol., 149, 2000: 553-566). A site-specific integration into the plant genome of the nucleic acid sequences according to the invention is possible. Naturally, these methods can also be applied to microorganisms such as yeast, fungi or bacteria.

The invention also provides a method for the production of transgenic plants having enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants, comprising introduction and expression in a plant of any nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined hereinabove.

More specifically, the present invention provides a method for the production of transgenic plants having enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants, which method comprises:

-   -   (i) introducing and expressing in a plant or plant cell a         nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide; and     -   (ii) cultivating the plant cell under conditions promoting plant         growth and development.

The nucleic acid sequence may be introduced directly into a plant cell or into the plant itself (including introduction into a tissue, organ or any other part of a plant). According to a preferred feature of the present invention, the nucleic acid sequence is preferably introduced into a plant by transformation. The term “transformation” is described in more detail in the “definitions” section herein.

The genetically modified plant cells can be regenerated via all methods with which the skilled worker is familiar. Suitable methods can be found in the abovementioned publications by S. D. Kung and R. Wu, Potrykus or Höfgen and Willmitzer.

Generally after transformation, plant cells or cell groupings are selected for the presence of one or more markers which are encoded by plant-expressible genes co-transferred with the gene of interest, following which the transformed material is regenerated into a whole plant. To select transformed plants, the plant material obtained in the transformation is, as a rule, subjected to selective conditions so that transformed plants can be distinguished from untransformed plants. For example, the seeds obtained in the above-described manner can be planted and, after an initial growing period, subjected to a suitable selection by spraying. A further possibility consists in growing the seeds, if appropriate after sterilization, on agar plates using a suitable selection agent so that only the transformed seeds can grow into plants. Alternatively, the transformed plants are screened for the presence of a selectable marker such as the ones described above.

Following DNA transfer and regeneration, putatively transformed plants may also be evaluated, for instance using Southern analysis or quantitative PCR, for the presence of the gene of interest, copy number and/or genomic organisation. Alternatively or additionally, expression levels of the newly introduced DNA may be monitored using Northern and/or Western analysis, both techniques being well known to persons having ordinary skill in the art.

The generated transformed plants may be propagated by a variety of means, such as by clonal propagation or classical breeding techniques. For example, a first generation (or T1) transformed plant may be selfed and homozygous second-generation (or T2) transformants selected, and the T2 plants may then further be propagated through classical breeding techniques.

The generated transformed organisms may take a variety of forms. For example, they may be chimeras of transformed cells and non-transformed cells; clonal transformants (e.g., all cells transformed to contain the expression cassette); grafts of transformed and untransformed tissues (e.g., in plants, a transformed rootstock grafted to an untransformed scion).

The present invention clearly extends to any plant cell or plant produced by any of the methods described herein, and to all plant parts and propagules thereof. The present invention extends further to encompass the progeny of a primary transformed or transfected cell, tissue, organ or whole plant that has been produced by any of the aforementioned methods, the only requirement being that progeny exhibit the same genotypic and/or phenotypic characteristic(s) as those produced by the parent in the methods according to the invention.

The invention also includes host cells containing an isolated nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined hereinabove. Preferred host cells according to the invention are plant cells. Host plants for the nucleic acid sequences or the vector used in the method according to the invention, the expression cassette or construct or vector are, in principle, advantageously all plants, which are capable of synthesizing the polypeptides used in the inventive method.

The methods of the invention are advantageously applicable to any plant.

Plants that are particularly useful in the methods of the invention include all plants which belong to the superfamily Viridiplantae, in particular monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants including fodder or forage legumes, ornamental plants, food crops, trees or shrubs. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plant is a crop plant. Examples of crop plants include soybean, sunflower, canola, alfalfa, rapeseed, cotton, tomato, potato and tobacco. Further preferably, the plant is a monocotyledonous plant. Examples of monocotyledonous plants include sugarcane. More preferably the plant is a cereal. Examples of cereals include rice, maize, wheat, barley, millet, rye, triticale, sorghum and oats.

The invention also extends to harvestable parts of a plant such as, but not limited to seeds, leaves, fruits, flowers, stems, rhizomes, tubers and bulbs. The invention furthermore relates to products derived, preferably directly derived, from a harvestable part of such a plant, such as dry pellets or powders, oil, fat and fatty acids, starch or proteins.

Methods for increasing expression of nucleic acid sequences or genes, or gene products, are well documented in the art and include, for example, overexpression driven by appropriate promoters, the use of transcription enhancers or translation enhancers. Isolated nucleic acid sequences which serve as promoter or enhancer elements may be introduced in an appropriate position (typically upstream) of a non-heterologous form of a polynucleotide so as to upregulate expression. For example, endogenous promoters may be altered in vivo by mutation, deletion, and/or substitution (see, Kmiec, U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,350; Zarling et al., PCT/US93/03868), or isolated promoters may be introduced into a plant cell in the proper orientation and distance from a gene of the present invention so as to control the expression of the gene.

If polypeptide expression is desired, it is generally desirable to include a polyadenylation region at the 3′-end of a polynucleotide coding region. The polyadenylation region can be derived from the natural gene, from a variety of other plant genes, or from T-DNA. The 3′ end sequence to be added may be derived from, for example, the nopaline synthase or octopine synthase genes, or alternatively from another plant gene, or less preferably from any other eukaryotic gene.

As mentioned above, a preferred method for increasing expression of a nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide is by introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide; however the effects of performing the method, i.e. enhancing yield-related traits, may also be achieved using other well known techniques. A description of some of these techniques will now follow.

One such technique is T-DNA activation tagging (Hayashi et al. Science (1992) 1350-1353), which involves insertion of T-DNA, usually containing a promoter (may also be a translation enhancer or an intron), in the genomic region of the gene of interest or 10 kb up- or downstream of the coding region of a gene in a configuration such that the promoter directs expression of the targeted gene. Typically, regulation of expression of the targeted gene by its natural promoter is disrupted and the gene falls under the control of the newly introduced promoter. The promoter is typically embedded in a T-DNA. This T-DNA is randomly inserted into the plant genome, for example, through Agrobacterium infection and leads to modified expression of genes near the inserted T-DNA. The resulting transgenic plants show dominant phenotypes due to modified expression of genes close to the introduced promoter.

The effects of the invention may also be reproduced using the technique of TILLING (Targeted Induced Local Lesions In Genomes); for a description of the same see the “definitions” section.

The effects of the invention may also be reproduced using homologous recombination; for a description of the same see the “definitions” section.

The present invention also encompasses use of nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides as described herein and use of these SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides in enhancing yield-related traits in plants relative to control plants. Preferably, enhanced yield-related traits is one or more of: (i) increased number of flowers per panicle; (ii) increased total seed weight per plant; (iii) increased number of (filled) seeds; or (iv) increased harvest index.

The present invention further encompasses use of nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides as described herein and use of these SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides in enhancing yield-related traits in plants grown under abiotic stress conditions (preferably under drought stress conditions), relative to control plants grown under comparable stress conditions. Preferably, enhanced yield-related traits are one or more of: (i) increased aboveground area; (ii) increased total root biomass; (iii) increased thick root biomass; (iv) increased thin root biomass; (v) increased number of flowers per panicle; (vi) increased seed fill rate; (vii) increased total seed weight per plant; (viii) increased number of (filled) seeds; or (ix) increased harvest index.

Nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides described herein, or the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides themselves, may find use in breeding programmes in which a DNA marker is identified, which may be genetically linked to a gene encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide. The genes/nucleic acid sequences or the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides themselves may be used to define a molecular marker. This DNA or protein marker may then be used in breeding programmes to select plants having enhanced yield-related traits as defined hereinabove in the methods of the invention.

Allelic variants of a gene/nucleic acid sequence encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide may also find use in marker-assisted breeding programmes. Such breeding programmes sometimes require introduction of allelic variation by mutagenic treatment of the plants, using for example EMS mutagenesis; alternatively, the programme may start with a collection of allelic variants of so called “natural” origin caused unintentionally. Identification of allelic variants then takes place, for example, by PCR. This is followed by a step for selection of superior allelic variants of the sequence in question and which give enhanced yield-related traits. Selection is typically carried out by monitoring growth performance of plants containing different allelic variants of the sequence in question. Growth performance may be monitored in a greenhouse or in the field. Further optional steps include crossing plants in which the superior allelic variant was identified with another plant. This could be used, for example, to make a combination of interesting phenotypic features.

Nucleic acid sequences encoding SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides may also be used as probes for genetically and physically mapping the genes that they are a part of, and as markers for traits linked to those genes. Such information may be useful in plant breeding in order to develop lines with desired phenotypes. Such use of nucleic acid sequences encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide requires only a nucleic acid sequence of at least 15 nucleotides in length. The nucleic acid sequences encoding an SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide may be used as restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers. Southern blots (Sambrook J, Fritsch E F and Maniatis T (1989) Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual) of restriction-digested plant genomic DNA may be probed with nucleic acid sequences encoding the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide. The resulting banding patterns may then be subjected to genetic analyses using computer programs such as MapMaker (Lander et al. (1987) Genomics 1: 174-181) in order to construct a genetic map. In addition, the nucleic acid sequences may be used to probe Southern blots containing restriction endonuclease-treated genomic DNAs of a set of individuals representing parent and progeny of a defined genetic cross. Segregation of the DNA polymorphisms is noted and used to calculate the position of the nucleic acid sequence encoding the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide in the genetic map previously obtained using this population (Botstein et al. (1980) Am. J. Hum. Genet. 32:314-331).

The production and use of plant gene-derived probes for use in genetic mapping is described in Bernatzky and Tanksley (1986) Plant Mol. Biol. Reporter 4: 37-41. Numerous publications describe genetic mapping of specific cDNA clones using the methodology outlined above or variations thereof. For example, F2 intercross populations, backcross populations, randomly mated populations, near isogenic lines, and other sets of individuals may be used for mapping. Such methodologies are well known to those skilled in the art.

The nucleic acid probes may also be used for physical mapping (i.e., placement of sequences on physical maps; see Hoheisel et al. In: Non-mammalian Genomic Analysis: A Practical Guide, Academic press 1996, pp. 319-346, and references cited therein).

In another embodiment, the nucleic acid probes may be used in direct fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) mapping (Trask (1991) Trends Genet. 7:149-154). Although current methods of FISH mapping favour use of large clones (several kb to several hundred kb; see Laan et al. (1995) Genome Res. 5:13-20), improvements in sensitivity may allow performance of FISH mapping using shorter probes.

A variety of nucleic acid amplification-based methods for genetic and physical mapping may be carried out using the nucleic acid sequences. Examples include allele-specific amplification (Kazazian (1989) J. Lab. Clin. Med 11:95-96), polymorphism of PCR-amplified fragments (CAPS; Sheffield et al. (1993) Genomics 16:325-332), allele-specific ligation (Landegren et al. (1988) Science 241:1077-1080), nucleotide extension reactions (Sokolov (1990) Nucleic Acid Res. 18:3671), Radiation Hybrid Mapping (Walter et al. (1997) Nat. Genet. 7:22-28) and Happy Mapping (Dear and Cook (1989) Nucleic Acid Res. 17:6795-6807). For these methods, the sequence of a nucleic acid is used to design and produce primer pairs for use in the amplification reaction or in primer extension reactions. The design of such primers is well known to those skilled in the art. In methods employing PCR-based genetic mapping, it may be necessary to identify DNA sequence differences between the parents of the mapping cross in the region corresponding to the instant nucleic acid sequence. This, however, is generally not necessary for mapping methods.

The methods according to the present invention result in plants having enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants, as described hereinbefore. This trait may also be combined with other economically advantageous traits, such as further yield-enhancing traits (under normal or stress growth conditions), tolerance to other abiotic and biotic stresses, traits modifying various architectural features and/or biochemical and/or physiological features.

DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

The present invention will now be described with reference to the following figures in which:

FIG. 1 shows an alignment of HpaG polypeptides with motifs 1 and 2 indicated in bold and underlined for SEQ ID NO: 2. The sequences shown are: ABJ97680 (SEQ IDNO: 20); AAC95121 (SEQ IDNO: 22); BAD29979 (SEQ IDNO: 24); ABB72197 (SEQ IDNO: 26); ABK51590 (SEQ IDNO: 14); ABK51589 (SEQ IDNO: 8); ABK51587 (SEQ IDNO: 10); ABK51588 (SEQ IDNO: 16); AAM35307 (SEQ IDNO: 12); ABG36696 (SEQ IDNO: 18); AAM40538 (SEQ IDNO: 28).

FIG. 2 shows a phylogenetic tree with the group of HpaG polypeptides delineated from other bacterial and from plant proteins (the various sequences are indicated by their GenBank accession numbers and/or gi numbers).

FIG. 3 shows the binary vector for increased expression in Oryza sativa of an HpaG protein-encoding nucleic acid from Xanthomonas under the control of a rice GOS2 promoter (pGOS2).

FIG. 4 details examples of Harpin sequences useful in performing the methods according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a scheme of the structure of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides useful in performing the methods of the invention. The SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides useful in performing the methods of the invention comprise an N-terminal domain and an ATPase domain, both marked as an open box. The typical 8 motifs I, Ia, II, III, IV, V, Va and VI comprised in the ATPase domain of the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides useful in performing the methods of the invention are marked as black vertical lines.

FIG. 6 shows the sequence logo of the ATPase domain of the 149 SWI2/SNF2 SSO1653 subfamily members as in Flaus et al., (2006). The ATPase domain as represented by SEQ ID NO: 111, and comprised in SEQ ID NO: 30, is in accordance with this sequence logo.

FIG. 7 shows an unrooted radial neighbor-joining tree of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides from numerous SWI2/SNF2 subfamilies (including the 149 SWI2/SNF2 SSO1653 subfamily members) constructed by Flaus et al., (2006). The polypeptide as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30 is comprised within the SSO1653 cluster (circled in the Figure), together with all the archeal and bacterial (collectively called microbial) SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides.

FIG. 8 shows a CLUSTAL W (1; 83) multiple sequence alignment of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides from various microbes, using default values. SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides share sequence conservation essentially in Motifs I, Ia, II, III, IV, V, Va and VI, comprised in the ATPase domain. These are boxed and identified as such. Another feature that is highlighted is the ATPase domain, for example as represented by SEQ ID NO: 111, comprised in SEQ ID NO: 30. The ATPase domain is comprised (from N to C-terminus) between the first amino acid residue of Motif 1 and the last amino acid residue at the C-terminus of the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide. The beginning and the end of the ATPase domain are marked, and the ATPase domain itself is identified using a black block above the aligned polypeptides. The sequences shown are: Synco_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 30); Anava_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 32); Nostoc_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 60); Nodsp_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 58); Lyn_sp_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 42); Crowa_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 38); Synel_PCC6301_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 98); Synel_PCC7942_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 100); Theel_BP-1_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 102); Glovi_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 40); Proma_CCMP1375_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 68); Proma_MIT\9211_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 70); Proma_MIT\9303_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 72); Proma_MIT9313_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 74); Syn_sp_CC9311_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 86); Syn_sp_WH\7805_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 94); Syn_sp_RS9916_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 92); Syn_sp_CC9605_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 88); Syn_sp_WH\8102_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 96); Syn_sp_CC9902_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 90); Syn_sp_\WH\5701_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 82); Myctu_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 52); Mycbo_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 50); Nocfa_IFM\10152_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 56); Myxxa_DK_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 54); Symth_IAM14863_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 80); Metac_C2A_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 44); Metma_Go1_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 48); Pelph_BU-1_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 66); Archaeo\RC-I_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 34); Nos_sp_PCC7120_SNF2\II (SEQ ID NO: 62); Bacce_ATCC10987_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 36); Methu_JF-1_SNF2 (SEQ ID NO: 46).

FIG. 9 shows the binary vector for increased expression in Oryza sativa of a Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide under the control of a beta-expansin promoter.

FIG. 10 details examples of SNF2 sequences useful in performing the methods according to the present invention.

EXAMPLES

The present invention will now be described with reference to the following examples, which are by way of illustration alone. The following examples are not intended to completely define or otherwise limit the scope of the invention.

Example 1 Identification of HpaG Sequences

Sequences (full length cDNA, ESTs or genomic) related to SEQ ID NO: 1 and/or protein sequences related to SEQ ID NO: 2 were identified amongst those maintained in the Entrez Nucleotides database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) using database sequence search tools, such as the Basic Local Alignment Tool (BLAST) (Altschul et al. (1990) J. Mol. Biol. 215:403-410; and Altschul et al. (1997) Nucleic Acids Res. 25:3389-3402). The program was used to find regions of local similarity between sequences by comparing nucleic acid or polypeptide sequences to sequence databases and by calculating the statistical significance of matches. The polypeptide encoded by SEQ ID NO: 1 was used for the TBLASTN algorithm, with default settings and the filter to ignore low complexity sequences set off. The output of the analysis was viewed by pairwise comparison, and ranked according to the probability score (E-value), where the score reflects the probability that a particular alignment occurs by chance (the lower the E-value, the more significant the hit). In addition to E-values, comparisons were also scored by percentage identity. Percentage identity refers to the number of identical nucleotides (or amino acids) between the two compared nucleic acid (or polypeptide) sequences over a particular length. In some instances, the default parameters may be adjusted to modify the stringency of the search.

Table A provides a list of nucleic acid and protein sequences related to the nucleic acid sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 1 and the protein sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 2.

TABLE A HpaG-encoding nucleic acid sequences and HpaG polypeptides useful in the methods of the present invention. Nucleic acid Polypeptide Name Source organism SEQ ID NO: SEQ ID NO: Status HpaG Xanthomonas axonopodis 1 2 Full length HpaG_T44C Synthetic construct 7 8 Full length HpaG-T Synthetic construct 9 10 Full length Hpa1 Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri str. 306 11 12 Full length HpaG-N Synthetic construct 13 14 Full length HpaG_G Xanthomonas axonopodis 15 16 Full length Hrp Xanthomonas smithii subsp. smithii 17 18 Full length hypersensitive response- Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae strain JXOIII 19 20 Full length functioning factor A Hpa1 Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae 21 22 Full length Hpa1 Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae 23 24 Full length hpaGXooc Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola 25 26 Full length Hpa1 Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris str. 27 28 Full length ATCC 33913

Example 2 Alignment of HpaG Polypeptide Sequences

Alignment of polypeptide sequences (FIG. 1) was performed using the ClustalW programme which is based on the popular Clustal algorithm of progressive alignment (Thompson et al. (1997) Nucleic Acids Res 25:4876-4882; Chenna et al. (2003). Nucleic Acids Res 31:3497-3500). Default values are for the gap open penalty of 10, for the gap extension penalty of 0,1 and the selected weight matrix is Blosum 62 (if polypeptides are aligned). Minor manual editing was done to further optimise the alignment.

A phylogenetic tree of HpaG polypeptides (FIG. 2) was constructed using a neighbour-joining clustering algorithm as provided in the AlignX programme from the Vector NTI (Invitrogen).

Example 3 Calculation of Global Percentage Identity Between Polypeptide Sequences Useful in Performing the Methods of the Invention

Global percentages of similarity and identity between full length polypeptide sequences useful in performing the methods of the invention were determined using one of the methods available in the art, the MatGAT (Matrix Global Alignment Tool) software (Campanella et al., BMC Bioinformatics. 2003 4:29. MatGAT: an application that generates similarity/identity matrices using protein or DNA sequences). MatGAT software generates similarity/identity matrices for DNA or protein sequences without needing pre-alignment of the data. The program performs a series of pair-wise alignments using the Myers and Miller global alignment algorithm (with a gap opening penalty of 12, and a gap extension penalty of 2), calculates similarity and identity using for example Blosum 62 (for polypeptides), and then places the results in a distance matrix. Sequence similarity is shown in the bottom half of the dividing line and sequence identity is shown in the top half of the diagonal dividing line.

Parameters used in the comparison were:

-   -   Scoring matrix: Blosum62     -   First Gap: 12     -   Extending gap: 2

Results of the software analysis are shown in Table B for the global similarity and identity over the full length of the polypeptide sequences (excluding the partial polypeptide sequences). Percentage identity is given above the diagonal in bold and percentage similarity is given below the diagonal (normal face).

The percentage identity between the HpaG polypeptide sequences useful in performing the methods of the invention can be as low as 37% amino acid identity compared to SEQ ID NO: 9.

TABLE B MatGAT results for global similarity and identity over the full length of the polypeptide sequences. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  1. SEQ ID NO: 2 99.2 94.0 91.2 91.0 90.2 85.4 66.7 66.7 66.7 59.6 37.7  2. ABK51589 99.2 93.2 90.5 90.2 89.5 84.7 67.4 67.4 67.4 60.3 37.7  3. ABK51587 94.0 93.2 85.4 85.0 92.0 79.6 60.3 60.3 60.3 56.4 33.3  4. AAM35307 92.0 91.2 86.1 82.5 81.8 89.8 70.9 70.9 70.9 61.4 36.6  5. ABK51590 91.0 90.2 90.4 83.2 81.2 76.6 57.4 57.4 57.4 50.7 32.8  6. ABK51588 90.2 89.5 92.0 82.5 89.3 75.2 58.2 58.2 58.2 56.4 33.8  7. ABG36696 89.5 88.7 83.5 92.7 80.5 79.7 70.7 70.7 70.7 58.8 37.0  8. ABJ97680 77.0 77.7 70.5 80.6 67.6 68.3 81.3 100.0 100.0 64.5 35.0  9. AAC95121 77.0 77.7 70.5 80.6 67.6 68.3 81.3 100.0 100.0 64.5 35.0 10. BAD29979 77.0 77.7 70.5 80.6 67.6 68.3 81.3 100.0 100.0 64.5 35.0 11. ABB72197 72.9 73.7 72.8 73.7 68.0 72.8 72.9 72.7 72.7 72.7 34.6 12. AAM40538 51.9 51.9 48.0 49.6 46.3 50.4 50.4 45.3 45.3 45.3 53.6

Example 4 Cloning and Vector Construction

Unless otherwise stated, recombinant DNA techniques are performed according to standard protocols described in (Sambrook (2001) Molecular Cloning: a laboratory manual, 3rd Edition Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, CSH, New York) or in Volumes 1 and 2 of Ausubel et al. (1994), Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Current Protocols. Standard materials and methods for plant molecular work are described in Plant Molecular Biology Labfax (1993) by R.D.D. Croy, published by BIOS Scientific Publications Ltd (UK) and Blackwell Scientific Publications (UK).

The Xanthomonas HpaG coding sequence was amplified by PCR from a Xanthomonas axonopodis DNA library. The PCR fragment of the expected length was purified and subsequently cloned in a Gateway® vector using standard technology. The entry clone comprising SEQ ID NO: 1 was then used in an LR reaction with a destination vector used for Oryza sativa transformation. This vector contained as functional elements within the T-DNA borders: a plant selectable marker; a screenable marker expression cassette; and a Gateway cassette intended for LR in vivo recombination with the nucleic acid sequence of interest already cloned in the entry clone. A rice GOS2 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 5) for constitutive expression was located upstream of this Gateway cassette. Alternatively, a green tissue specific promoter, such as the protochlorophyllide reductase promoter (SEQ ID NO: 6), was shown to be equally useful.

After the LR recombination step, the resulting expression vector pGOS2::HpaG was transformed into Agrobacterium strain LBA4044 according to methods well known in the art.

Example 5 Plant Transformation

Rice Transformation

The Agrobacterium containing the expression vector was used to transform Oryza sativa plants. Mature dry seeds of the rice japonica cultivar Nipponbare were dehusked. Sterilization was carried out by incubating for one minute in 70% ethanol, followed by 30 minutes in 0.2% HgCl₂, followed by a 6 times 15 minutes wash with sterile distilled water. The sterile seeds were then germinated on a medium containing 2,4-D (callus induction medium). After incubation in the dark for four weeks, embryogenic, scutellum-derived calli were excised and propagated on the same medium. After two weeks, the calli were multiplied or propagated by subculture on the same medium for another 2 weeks. Embryogenic callus pieces were sub-cultured on fresh medium 3 days before co-cultivation (to boost cell division activity).

Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 containing the expression vector was used for co-cultivation. Agrobacterium was inoculated on AB medium with the appropriate antibiotics and cultured for 3 days at 28° C. The bacteria were then collected and suspended in liquid co-cultivation medium to a density (OD₆₀₀) of about 1. The suspension was then transferred to a Petri dish and the calli immersed in the suspension for 15 minutes. The callus tissues were then blotted dry on a filter paper and transferred to solidified, co-cultivation medium and incubated for 3 days in the dark at 25° C. Co-cultivated calli were grown on 2,4-D-containing medium for 4 weeks in the dark at 28° C. in the presence of a selection agent. During this period, rapidly growing resistant callus islands developed. After transfer of this material to a regeneration medium and incubation in the light, the embryogenic potential was released and shoots developed in the next four to five weeks. Shoots were excised from the calli and incubated for 2 to 3 weeks on an auxin-containing medium from which they were transferred to soil. Hardened shoots were grown under high humidity and short days in a greenhouse.

Approximately 35 independent TO rice transformants were generated for one construct. The primary transformants were transferred from a tissue culture chamber to a greenhouse. After a quantitative PCR analysis to verify copy number of the T-DNA insert, only single copy transgenic plants that exhibit tolerance to the selection agent were kept for harvest of T1 seed.

Seeds were then harvested three to five months after transplanting. The method yielded single locus transformants at a rate of over 50% (Aldemita and Hodges 1996, Chan et al. 1993, Hiei et al. 1994).

Corn Transformation

Transformation of maize (Zea mays) is performed with a modification of the method described by Ishida et al. (1996) Nature Biotech 14 (6): 745-50. Transformation is genotype-dependent in corn and only specific genotypes are amenable to transformation and regeneration. The inbred line A188 (University of Minnesota) or hybrids with A188 as a parent are good sources of donor material for transformation, but other genotypes can be used successfully as well. Ears are harvested from corn plant approximately 11 days after pollination (DAP) when the length of the immature embryo is about 1 to 1.2 mm. Immature embryos are cocultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing the expression vector, and transgenic plants are recovered through organogenesis. Excised embryos are grown on callus induction medium, then maize regeneration medium, containing the selection agent (for example imidazolinone but various selection markers can be used). The Petri plates are incubated in the light at 25° C. for 2-3 weeks, or until shoots develop. The green shoots are transferred from each embryo to maize rooting medium and incubated at 25° C. for 2-3 weeks, until roots develop. The rooted shoots are transplanted to soil in the greenhouse. T1 seeds are produced from plants that exhibit tolerance to the selection agent and that contain a single copy of the T-DNA insert.

Wheat Transformation

Transformation of wheat is performed with the method described by Ishida et al. (1996) Nature Biotech 14 (6): 745-50. The cultivar Bobwhite (available from CIMMYT, Mexico) is commonly used in transformation. Immature embryos are co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing the expression vector, and transgenic plants are recovered through organogenesis. After incubation with Agrobacterium, the embryos are grown in vitro on callus induction medium, then regeneration medium, containing the selection agent (for example imidazolinone but various selection markers can be used). The Petri plates are incubated in the light at 25° C. for 2-3 weeks, or until shoots develop. The green shoots are transferred from each embryo to rooting medium and incubated at 25° C. for 2-3 weeks, until roots develop. The rooted shoots are transplanted to soil in the greenhouse. T1 seeds are produced from plants that exhibit tolerance to the selection agent and that contain a single copy of the T-DNA insert.

Soybean Transformation

Soybean is transformed according to a modification of the method described in the Texas A&M patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,310. Several commercial soybean varieties are amenable to transformation by this method. The cultivar Jack (available from the Illinois Seed foundation) is commonly used for transformation. Soybean seeds are sterilised for in vitro sowing. The hypocotyl, the radicle and one cotyledon are excised from seven-day old young seedlings. The epicotyl and the remaining cotyledon are further grown to develop axillary nodes. These axillary nodes are excised and incubated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing the expression vector. After the cocultivation treatment, the explants are washed and transferred to selection media. Regenerated shoots are excised and placed on a shoot elongation medium. Shoots no longer than 1 cm are placed on rooting medium until roots develop. The rooted shoots are transplanted to soil in the greenhouse. T1 seeds are produced from plants that exhibit tolerance to the selection agent and that contain a single copy of the T-DNA insert.

Rapeseed/Canola Transformation

Cotyledonary petioles and hypocotyls of 5-6 day old young seedling are used as explants for tissue culture and transformed according to Babic et al. (1998, Plant Cell Rep 17: 183-188). The commercial cultivar Westar (Agriculture Canada) is the standard variety used for transformation, but other varieties can also be used. Canola seeds are surface-sterilized for in vitro sowing. The cotyledon petiole explants with the cotyledon attached are excised from the in vitro seedlings, and inoculated with Agrobacterium (containing the expression vector) by dipping the cut end of the petiole explant into the bacterial suspension. The explants are then cultured for 2 days on MSBAP-3 medium containing 3 mg/l BAP, 3% sucrose, 0.7% Phytagar at 23° C., 16 hr light. After two days of co-cultivation with Agrobacterium, the petiole explants are transferred to MSBAP-3 medium containing 3 mg/l BAP, cefotaxime, carbenicillin, or timentin (300 mg/l) for 7 days, and then cultured on MSBAP-3 medium with cefotaxime, carbenicillin, or timentin and selection agent until shoot regeneration. When the shoots are 5-10 mm in length, they are cut and transferred to shoot elongation medium (MSBAP-0.5, containing 0.5 mg/l BAP). Shoots of about 2 cm in length are transferred to the rooting medium (MS0) for root induction. The rooted shoots are transplanted to soil in the greenhouse. T1 seeds are produced from plants that exhibit tolerance to the selection agent and that contain a single copy of the T-DNA insert.

Alfalfa Transformation

A regenerating clone of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is transformed using the method of (McKersie et al., 1999 Plant Physiol 119: 839-847). Regeneration and transformation of alfalfa is genotype dependent and therefore a regenerating plant is required. Methods to obtain regenerating plants have been described. For example, these can be selected from the cultivar Rangelander (Agriculture Canada) or any other commercial alfalfa variety as described by Brown DCW and A Atanassov (1985. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Culture 4: 111-112). Alternatively, the RA3 variety (University of Wisconsin) has been selected for use in tissue culture (Walker et al., 1978 Am J Bot 65:654-659). Petiole explants are cocultivated with an overnight culture of Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58C1 pMP90 (McKersie et al., 1999 Plant Physiol 119: 839-847) or LBA4404 containing the expression vector. The explants are cocultivated for 3 d in the dark on SH induction medium containing 288 mg/L Pro, 53 mg/L thioproline, 4.35 g/L K2SO4, and 100 μm acetosyringinone. The explants are washed in half-strength Murashige-Skoog medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) and plated on the same SH induction medium without acetosyringinone but with a suitable selection agent and suitable antibiotic to inhibit Agrobacterium growth. After several weeks, somatic embryos are transferred to BOi2Y development medium containing no growth regulators, no antibiotics, and 50 g/L sucrose. Somatic embryos are subsequently germinated on half-strength Murashige-Skoog medium. Rooted seedlings were transplanted into pots and grown in a greenhouse. T1 seeds are produced from plants that exhibit tolerance to the selection agent and that contain a single copy of the T-DNA insert.

Cotton Transformation

Cotton is transformed using Agrobacterium tumefaciens according to the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,135. Cotton seeds are surface sterilised in 3% sodium hypochlorite solution during 20 minutes and washed in distilled water with 500 μg/ml cefotaxime. The seeds are then transferred to SH-medium with 50 μg/ml benomyl for germination. Hypocotyls of 4 to 6 days old seedlings are removed, cut into 0.5 cm pieces and are placed on 0.8% agar. An Agrobacterium suspension (approx. 108 cells per ml, diluted from an overnight culture transformed with the gene of interest and suitable selection markers) is used for inoculation of the hypocotyl explants. After 3 days at room temperature and lighting, the tissues are transferred to a solid medium (1.6 g/l Gelrite) with Murashige and Skoog salts with B5 vitamins (Gamborg et al., Exp. Cell Res. 50:151-158 (1968)), 0.1 mg/l 2,4-D, 0.1 mg/l 6-furfurylaminopurine and 750 μg/ml MgCL2, and with 50 to 100 μg/ml cefotaxime and 400-500 μg/ml carbenicillin to kill residual bacteria. Individual cell lines are isolated after two to three months (with subcultures every four to six weeks) and are further cultivated on selective medium for tissue amplification (30° C., 16 hr photoperiod). Transformed tissues are subsequently further cultivated on non-selective medium during 2 to 3 months to give rise to somatic embryos. Healthy looking embryos of at least 4 mm length are transferred to tubes with SH medium in fine vermiculite, supplemented with 0.1 mg/l indole acetic acid, 6 furfurylaminopurine and gibberellic acid. The embryos are cultivated at 30° C. with a photoperiod of 16 hrs, and plantlets at the 2 to 3 leaf stage are transferred to pots with vermiculite and nutrients. The plants are hardened and subsequently moved to the greenhouse for further cultivation.

Example 6 Phenotypic Evaluation Procedure

6.1 Evaluation Setup

Approximately 35 independent T0 rice transformants were generated. The primary transformants were transferred from a tissue culture chamber to a greenhouse for growing and harvest of T1 seed. Six events, of which the T1 progeny segregated 3:1 for presence/absence of the transgene, were retained. For each of these events, approximately 10 T1 seedlings containing the transgene (hetero- and homo-zygotes) and approximately 10 T1 seedlings lacking the transgene (nullizygotes) were selected by monitoring visual marker expression. The transgenic plants and the corresponding nullizygotes were grown side-by-side at random positions. Greenhouse conditions were of shorts days (12 hours light), 28° C. in the light and 22° C. in the dark, and a relative humidity of 70%.

Four T1 events were further evaluated in the T2 generation following the same evaluation procedure as for the T1 generation but with more individuals per event. From the stage of sowing until the stage of maturity the plants were passed several times through a digital imaging cabinet. At each time point digital images (2048×1536 pixels, 16 million colours) were taken of each plant from at least 6 different angles.

Drought Screen

Plants from six events (T2 seeds) were grown in potting soil under normal conditions until they approached the heading stage. They were then transferred to a “dry” section where irrigation was withheld. Humidity probes were inserted in randomly chosen pots to monitor the soil water content (SWC). When SWC went below certain thresholds, the plants were automatically re-watered continuously until a normal level was reached again. The plants were then re-transferred again to normal conditions. The rest of the cultivation (plant maturation, seed harvest) was the same as for plants not grown under abiotic stress conditions. Growth and yield parameters are recorded as detailed for growth under normal conditions.

Nitrogen Use Efficiency Screen

Rice plants from T2 seeds are grown in potting soil under normal conditions except for the nutrient solution. The pots are watered from transplantation to maturation with a specific nutrient solution containing reduced N nitrogen (N) content, usually between 7 to 8 times less. The rest of the cultivation (plant maturation, seed harvest) is the same as for plants not grown under abiotic stress. Growth and yield parameters are recorded as detailed for growth under normal conditions.

Salt Stress Screen

Plants are grown on a substrate made of coco fibers and argex (3 to 1 ratio). A normal nutrient solution is used during the first two weeks after transplanting the plantlets in the greenhouse. After the first two weeks, 25 mM of salt (NaCl) is added to the nutrient solution, until the plants are harvested. Seed-related parameters were then measured.

6.2 Statistical Analysis: F-Test

A two factor ANOVA (analysis of variants) was used as a statistical model for the overall evaluation of plant phenotypic characteristics. An F-test was carried out on all the parameters measured of all the plants of all the events transformed with the gene of the present invention.

The F-test was carried out to check for an effect of the gene over all the transformation events and to verify for an overall effect of the gene, also known as a global gene effect. The threshold for significance for a true global gene effect was set at a 5% probability level for the F-test. A significant F-test value points to a gene effect, meaning that it is not only the mere presence or position of the gene that is causing the differences in phenotype.

Because two experiments with overlapping events were carried out, a combined analysis was performed. This is useful to check consistency of the effects over the two experiments, and if this is the case, to accumulate evidence from both experiments in order to increase confidence in the conclusion. The method used was a mixed-model approach that takes into account the multilevel structure of the data (i.e. experiment—event—segregants). P-values were obtained by comparing likelihood ratio test to chi square distributions.

6.3 Parameters Measured

Biomass-Related Parameter Measurement

From the stage of sowing until the stage of maturity the plants were passed several times through a digital imaging cabinet. At each time point digital images (2048×1536 pixels, 16 million colours) were taken of each plant from at least 6 different angles.

The plant aboveground area (or leafy biomass) was determined by counting the total number of pixels on the digital images from aboveground plant parts discriminated from the background. This value was averaged for the pictures taken on the same time point from the different angles and was converted to a physical surface value expressed in square mm by calibration. Experiments show that the aboveground plant area measured this way correlates with the biomass of plant parts above ground. The above ground area is the area measured at the time point at which the plant had reached its maximal leafy biomass. The early vigour is the plant (seedling) aboveground area three weeks post-germination. Increase in root biomass is expressed as an increase in total root biomass (measured as maximum biomass of roots observed during the lifespan of a plant); or as an increase in the root/shoot index (measured as the ratio between root mass and shoot mass in the period of active growth of root and shoot).

Early vigour was determined by counting the total number of pixels from aboveground plant parts discriminated from the background. This value was averaged for the pictures taken on the same time point from different angles and was converted to a physical surface value expressed in square mm by calibration. The results described below are for plants three weeks post-germination.

Seed-Related Parameter Measurements

The mature primary panicles were harvested, counted, bagged, barcode-labelled and then dried for three days in an oven at 37° C. The panicles were then threshed and all the seeds were collected and counted. The filled husks were separated from the empty ones using an air-blowing device. The empty husks were discarded and the remaining fraction was counted again. The filled husks were weighed on an analytical balance. The number of filled seeds was determined by counting the number of filled husks that remained after the separation step. The total seed yield was measured by weighing all filled husks harvested from a plant. Total seed number per plant was measured by counting the number of husks harvested from a plant. Thousand Kernel Weight (TKW) is extrapolated from the number of filled seeds counted and their total weight. The Harvest Index (HI) in the present invention is defined as the ratio between the total seed yield and the above ground area (mm²), multiplied by a factor 10⁶. The total number of flowers per panicle as defined in the present invention is the ratio between the total number of seeds and the number of mature primary panicles. The seed fill rate as defined in the present invention is the proportion (expressed as a %) of the number of filled seeds over the total number of seeds (or florets).

Example 7 Results of the Phenotypic Evaluation of the Transgenic Plants

The results of the evaluation of transgenic rice plants expressing an HpaG nucleic acid under non-stress conditions are presented below. An increase was observed for aboveground biomass (AreaMax), emergence vigour (early vigour), total seed yield, number of filled seeds, fill rate, number of flowers per panicle, harvest index, and thousand kernel weight (see table C)

TABLE C Results of the measurements for yield increase under non-stress conditions Parameter Overall increase (in %) p-value of F-test AreaMax 13 0.0000 Early vigour 25 0.0041 Total weight of seeds 30 0.0000 Nr of filled seeds 26 0.0000 Fill rate 9 0.0000 Flowers per panicle 12 0.0371 Harvest Index 18 0.0000 Thousand Kernel Weight 4 0.0000

The results of the evaluation of transgenic rice plants expressing an HpaG nucleic acid under drought-stress conditions are presented hereunder. An increase was observed for total seed weight, number of filled seeds, fill rate, harvest index and thousand-kernel weight (Table D).

TABLE D Results of the measurements for yield increase under drought stress conditions Parameter Overall increase (in %) p-value of F-test Total weight of seeds 40 0.0000 Nr of filled seeds 37 0.0000 Fill rate 30 0.0000 Harvest Index 37 0.0000 Thousand Kernel Weight 3 0.0001

Example 8 Identification of Sequences Related to SEQ ID NO: 29 and SEQ ID NO: 30

Sequences (full length cDNA, ESTs or genomic) related to SEQ ID NO: 29 and/or protein sequences related to SEQ ID NO: 30 were identified amongst those maintained in the Entrez Nucleotides database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) using database sequence search tools, such as the Basic Local Alignment Tool (BLAST) (Altschul et al. (1990) J. Mol. Biol. 215:403-410; and Altschul et al. (1997) Nucleic Acids Res. 25:3389-3402). The program was used to find regions of local similarity between sequences by comparing nucleic acid or polypeptide sequences to sequence databases and by calculating the statistical significance of matches. The polypeptide encoded by SEQ ID NO: 29 was used for the TBLASTN algorithm, with default settings and the filter to ignore low complexity sequences set off. The output of the analysis was viewed by pairwise comparison, and ranked according to the probability score (E-value), where the score reflects the probability that a particular alignment occurs by chance (the lower the E-value, the more significant the hit). In addition to E-values, comparisons were also scored by percentage identity. Percentage identity refers to the number of identical nucleotides (or amino acids) between the two compared nucleic acid (or polypeptide) sequences over a particular length. In some instances, the default parameters may be adjusted to modify the stringency of the search.

TABLE E provides a list of nucleic acid and polypeptide sequences related to the nucleic acid sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 29 and the polypeptide sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 30. NCBI polypeptide accession NA SEQ AA SEQ Name Source organism number ID NO ID NO Synecho_PCC6803_SNF2 Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 BA000022 NP_442847.1 29 30 Anava_SNF2 Anaebena variabilis ATCC 29413 YP_323780.1 31 32 Archaeon RC-I_SNF2 Uncultured methanogenic archaeonRC-I_SNF2 CAJ35100.1 33 34 Bacce_ATCC10987_SNF2 Bacillus cereus ATCC 10987 AAS44264.1 35 36 Crowa_SNF2 Crocosphaera watsonii WH 8501 ctg336 ZP_00516613.1 37 38 Glovi_SNF2 Gloeobacter violaceus PCC 7421 NP_925212 39 40 Lyn_sp_SNF2 Lyngbya sp. PCC 8106 ZP_01622333.1 41 42 Metac_C2A_SNF2 Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A NP_615162.1 43 44 Methu_JF-1_SNF2 Methanospirillum hungatei JF-1 ABD41401.1 45 46 Metma_Go1_SNF2 Methanosarcina mazei Goe1 NP_633503.1 47 48 Mycbo_SNF2 Mycobacterium bovis BCG Pasteur 1173P2 CAL72108.1 49 50 Myctu_SNF2 Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv BX842578.1 51 52 Myxxa_DK_SNF2 Myxococcus xanthus DK 1622 YP_635387.1 53 54 Nocfa_IFM 10152_SNF2 Nocardia farcinica IFM 10152 BAD55876.1 55 56 Nodsp_SNF2 Nodularia spumigena ZP_01629192.1 57 58 Nos_sp_PCC7120_SNF2 Nostoc sp. PCC7120 BAB78256.1 59 60 Nos_sp_PCC7120_SNF2 II Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 ZP_00106150.1 61 62 Nospu_PCC 73102_SNF2 Nostoc punctiforme PCC 73102 NP_488438 63 64 Pelph_BU-1_SNF2 Pelodictyon phaeoclathratiforme BU-1 ZP_00589405.1 65 66 Proma_CCMP1375_SNF2 Prochlorococcus marinus str. CCMP1375 NP_874441.1 67 68 Proma_MIT 9211_SNF2 Prochlorococcus marinus str. MIT 9211 ZP_01006255.1 69 70 Proma_MIT 9303_SNF2 Prochlorococcus marinus str. MIT 9303 YP_001018833.1 71 72 Proma_MIT9313_SNF2 Prochlorococcus marinus str. MIT 9313 NP_895982.1 73 74 Rho_sp_RHA1_SNF2 Rhodococcus sp. RHA1 ABG93371.1 75 76 Saltr_CNB-440_SNF2 Salinispora tropica CNB-440 ZP_01431310 77 78 Symth_IAM14863_SNF2 Symbiobacterium thermophilum IAM 14863 BAD39642 79 80 Syn_sp_WH 5701_SNF2 Synechococcus sp. WH 5701 ZP_01083591.1 81 82 Syn_sp_BL107_SNF2 Synechococcus sp. BL107 ZP_01469219.1 83 84 Syn_sp_CC9311_SNF2 Synechococcus sp. CC9311 YP_731958.1 85 86 Syn_sp_CC9605_SNF2 Synechococcus sp. CC9605 YP_382805.1 87 88 Syn_sp_CC9902_SNF2 Synechococcus sp. CC9902 YP_378176.1 89 90 Syn_sp_RS9916_SNF2 Synechococcus sp. RS9916 ZP_01471362 91 92 Syn_sp_WH 7805_SNF2 Synechococcus sp. WH 7805 ZP_01125039.1 93 94 Syn_sp_WH 8102_SNF2 Synechococcus sp. WH 8102 NP_898451.1 95 96 Synel_PCC6301_SNF2 Synechococcus elongatus PCC 6301 YP_171376 97 98 Synel_PCC7942_SNF2 Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 YP_399891.1 99 100 Theel_BP-1_SNF2 Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 NP_682403.1 101 102

Additional sources of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides useful in performing the methods of the invention can be found in the supplementary table S1C provided by Flaus et al. (2006). The authors scanned 24 complete archeal and 269 bacterial genomes, and identified 149 SWI2/SNF2 of the SSO1653 subfamily type.

Example 9 Alignment of SWI2/SNF2 Polypeptide Sequences

Alignment of polypeptide sequences was performed the Clustal algorithm (1.83) of progressive alignment, using default values (Thompson et al. (1997) Nucleic Acids Res 25:4876-4882; Chenna et al. (2003). Nucleic Acids Res 31:3497-3500). Results in FIG. 8 show that SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides share sequence conservation essentially in Motifs I, Ia, II, III, IV, V, Va and VI (which are boxed), represented as follows:

-   -   (i) Motif I LADDMGLGK(T/S), as represented by SEQ ID NO: 103 or         a motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%,         55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more         sequence identity to the sequence of Motif I;     -   (ii) Motif Ia L(L/V/I)(V/I/L)(A/C)P(T/M/V)S(V/I/L)(V/I/L)XNW, as         represented by SEQ ID NO: 104 or a motif having in increasing         order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%,         85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the         sequence of Motif Ia;     -   (iii) Motif II DEAQ(N/A/H)(V/I/L)KN, as represented by SEQ ID         NO: 105 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at         least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99%         or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif II;     -   (iv) Motif III A(L/M)TGTPXEN, as represented by SEQ ID NO: 106         or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least         50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or         more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif III;     -   (v) Motif IV (L/I)XF(T/S)Q(F/Y), as represented by SEQ ID NO:         107 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least         50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or         more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif IV;     -   (vi) Motif V S(L/V)KAGG(V/T/L)G(L/I)(N/T)LTXA(N/S/T)HV, as         represented by SEQ ID NO: 108 or a motif having in increasing         order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%,         85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the         sequence of Motif V;     -   (vii) Motif Va DRWWNPAVE, as represented by SEQ ID NO: 109 or a         motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%,         55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more         sequence identity to the sequence of Motif Va; and     -   (viii) Motif VI QA(T/S)DR(A/T/V)(F/Y)R(I/L)GQ, as represented by         SEQ ID NO: 110 or a motif having in increasing order of         preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%,         95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif         VI,

where X in Motif Ia, Motif III, Motif IV, and Motif V, is any amino acid.

These eight motifs are comprised within the ATPase domain. The ATPase domain is comprised (from N-terminus to C-terminus) between the first amino acid residue of Motif 1 and the last amino acid residue at the C-terminus of the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide. The beginning and the end of the ATPase domain are marked in FIG. 8, and the ATPase domain itself is identified using a black block above the aligned polypeptides. An example of an ATPase domain is the ATPase domain of SEQ ID NO: 30, represented by SEQ ID NO: 111.

The sequence logo of the ATPase domain of the 149 SWI2/SNF2 SSO1653 subfamily members is presented in Flaus et al., (2006), and shown in FIG. 6. Sequence logos are a graphical representation of an amino acid or nucleic acid multiple sequence alignment. Each logo consists of stacks of symbols, one stack for each position in the sequence. The overall height of the stack indicates the sequence conservation at that position, while the height of symbols within the stack indicates the relative frequency of each amino or nucleic acid at that position. In general, a sequence logo provides a richer and more precise description of, for example, a binding site, than would a consensus sequence. The algorithm (WebLogo) to produce such logos is available at the server of the University of California, Berkeley. The ATPase domain as represented by SEQ ID NO: 111, and comprised in SEQ ID NO: 30, is in accordance with the sequence logo as represented in FIG. 6.

An unrooted radial neighbor-joining tree of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides from numerous SWI2/SNF2 subfamilies (including SSO1653) was constructed by Flaus et al., (2006), as shown in FIG. 7. The polypeptide as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30 is comprised within the SSO1653 cluster (circled in the Figure), together with all the archeal and bacterial (collectively called microbial) SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides.

Example 10 Calculation of Global Percentage Identity Between Polypeptide Sequences Useful in Performing the Methods of the Invention

Global percentages of similarity and identity between full length polypeptide sequences useful in performing the methods of the invention were determined using one of the methods available in the art, the MatGAT (Matrix Global Alignment Tool) software (BMC Bioinformatics. 2003 4:29. MatGAT: an application that generates similarity/identity matrices using protein or DNA sequences. Campanella J J, Bitincka L, Smalley J; software hosted by Ledion Bitincka). MatGAT software generates similarity/identity matrices for DNA or protein sequences without needing pre-alignment of the data. The program performs a series of pair-wise alignments using the Myers and Miller global alignment algorithm (with a gap opening penalty of 12, and a gap extension penalty of 2), calculates similarity and identity using for example Blosum 62 (for polypeptides), and then places the results in a distance matrix. Sequence similarity is shown in the bottom half of the dividing line and sequence identity is shown in the top half of the diagonal dividing line.

Parameters used in the comparison were:

-   -   Scoring matrix: Blosum62     -   First Gap: 12     -   Extending gap: 2

Results of the software analysis are shown in Table F for the global similarity and identity over the full length of the polypeptide sequences (excluding the partial polypeptide sequences). Percentage identity is given above the diagonal and percentage similarity is given below the diagonal.

The percentage identity between the full length SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide sequences of the SSO1653 subfamily, useful in performing the methods of the invention, ranges between 33 and 52% amino acid identity compared to SEQ ID NO: 30 (Table F).

The percentage identity between the ATPase domain of the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide sequences of the SSO1653 subfamily, useful in performing the methods of the invention, ranges between 45 and 70% amino acid identity compared to the ATPase domain as represented by SEQ ID NO: 111, comprised in SEQ ID NO: 30 (Table F1).

TABLE F MatGAT results for global similarity and identity over the full length of the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide sequences. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37  1. Synco_SNF2 48 38 33 52 46 48 38 33 37 37 37 38 36 47 34 40 49 37 41 41 41 41 36 38 37 42 40 42 43 43 43 42 43 47 47 46  2. Anava_SNF2 64 40 32 53 52 60 38 34 37 38 38 38 35 76 36 66 94 38 42 40 41 41 36 40 37 43 38 43 42 42 43 43 42 48 48 48  3. Archaeon_RC-I_SNF2 57 60 34 39 40 40 41 34 40 42 42 39 36 41 36 32 41 38 36 36 37 37 36 39 38 38 37 37 36 37 37 37 37 39 39 39  4. Bacce_ATCC10987_SNF2 49 48 52 33 34 33 33 33 32 34 34 31 34 32 32 26 32 34 30 30 28 28 33 32 35 29 27 29 30 30 30 29 29 33 33 34  5. Crowa_SNF2 68 70 60 51 47 53 36 34 36 36 36 35 32 52 35 43 53 38 41 40 38 38 33 36 34 39 34 39 38 38 38 39 39 44 44 45  6. Glovi_SNF2\ 62 67 59 51 65 53 38 34 39 40 40 38 37 52 37 41 52 39 41 40 40 40 37 40 40 43 39 43 41 42 42 42 42 46 46 49  7. Lyn_sp_SNF2 64 75 60 51 71 68 37 34 37 37 37 36 33 59 35 47 60 38 41 40 39 39 34 38 37 41 36 40 41 40 41 40 40 48 48 47  8. Metac_C2A_SNF2 55 56 60 50 56 56 57 34 90 42 42 38 36 38 36 30 38 47 36 35 35 35 36 41 38 37 33 36 36 36 36 37 36 36 36 38  9. Methu_JF-1_SNF2 53 53 55 48 56 52 53 52 34 35 35 32 33 33 31 27 34 33 30 31 31 31 33 33 32 30 29 31 32 32 31 32 31 33 33 34 10. Metma_Goe1_SNF2 55 56 60 48 55 56 57 95 52 41 41 38 35 38 36 29 38 47 35 34 35 35 36 41 37 36 33 36 36 36 35 36 36 35 35 37 11. Mycbo_SNF2 53 54 58 50 56 57 53 57 52 57 99 41 43 39 35 31 38 40 35 35 35 35 41 52 39 38 33 36 36 36 37 37 37 39 39 39 12. Myctu_SNF2 53 54 58 50 56 57 53 57 52 57 99 41 42 39 35 31 38 40 35 35 35 35 41 52 39 38 33 36 36 36 37 37 37 39 39 39 13. Myxxa_DK1622_SNF2 53 55 56 46 53 54 54 55 49 56 54 54 38 39 33 30 38 37 33 33 36 36 37 43 41 37 34 36 37 36 37 37 36 37 37 37 14 Nocfa_IFM10152_SNF2 51 51 52 51 51 55 51 50 48 51 55 55 50 35 33 27 35 37 31 33 35 35 64 43 40 35 32 35 36 35 36 36 36 37 37 37 15. Nodsp_SNF2 64 87 60 49 68 67 73 56 52 56 55 55 55 50 36 68 76 37 41 41 41 41 34 39 37 41 38 42 42 41 41 42 42 46 46 48 16. Nos_sp_PCC7120_SNF2 II 53 56 58 51 56 55 55 56 51 56 54 54 52 51 55 29 37 37 33 31 30 30 32 35 32 32 29 32 32 32 32 31 31 34 34 35 17. Nospu_PCC73102_SNF2 56 75 51 47 60 60 63 47 44 46 48 48 44 47 76 48 67 30 34 34 34 34 27 30 29 33 35 34 35 34 34 35 35 36 36 39 18. Nostoc_SNF2 64 97 60 48 70 67 76 57 53 56 54 54 55 51 86 58 76 38 43 41 41 41 36 39 37 42 38 42 42 42 42 43 43 48 48 48 19. Pelph_BU-1_SNF2 55 55 57 51 56 57 56 63 52 62 58 58 53 53 54 54 48 54 35 36 37 36 37 40 39 36 35 37 38 38 37 36 38 37 37 38 20. Proma_CCMP1375_SNF2 58 60 56 47 60 58 62 56 51 55 52 52 50 48 59 52 51 59 52 63 60 60 32 34 36 58 57 61 62 61 62 61 61 41 41 40 21. Proma_MIT9211_SNF2 58 58 55 46 60 58 61 55 50 54 53 53 50 50 59 52 51 59 54 78 66 66 32 35 35 61 61 66 66 65 65 66 65 42 42 40 22. Proma_MIT9303_SNF2 58 59 54 45 59 57 59 54 50 54 51 50 52 49 58 49 50 58 51 76 80 99 35 38 37 73 75 83 82 80 84 83 82 44 44 40 23. Proma_MIT9313_SNF2 58 58 54 43 58 57 59 54 50 54 51 50 52 49 58 49 50 58 51 76 80 99 35 38 37 72 75 84 82 79 84 83 82 44 44 39 24. Rho_Sp_RHA1_SNF2 51 51 51 52 52 54 51 52 49 52 55 55 49 75 50 50 48 51 54 49 51 49 49 43 40 36 31 35 35 35 35 35 35 37 37 38 25. SaItr_CNB-440_SNF2 55 56 58 49 56 56 55 58 49 57 65 65 55 56 56 54 48 55 58 52 53 52 52 55 42 39 35 39 39 39 39 39 39 40 40 39 26. Symth_IAM14863_SNF2 53 53 56 51 53 58 52 53 50 53 55 55 53 54 53 52 47 53 55 52 52 51 51 55 56 38 35 37 38 38 37 37 37 37 37 39 27. Syn_sp_WH5701_SNF2 60 59 57 46 61 60 60 54 51 54 53 53 52 50 58 50 51 60 52 73 77 81 81 51 54 53 68 74 73 73 75 75 74 47 47 42 28. Syn_sp_BL107_SNF2 56 56 53 44 57 57 57 50 47 50 49 49 48 47 55 48 53 56 51 73 75 83 83 48 50 51 79 78 85 93 78 79 85 42 42 38 29. Syn_sp_CC9311_SNF2 59 60 56 44 60 60 61 55 51 54 52 52 51 49 59 52 51 60 52 77 81 89 89 49 54 51 83 86 84 83 89 91 85 45 45 41 30. Syn_sp_CC9605_SNF2 59 60 57 46 60 59 61 55 52 55 52 52 52 50 59 52 51 60 54 78 81 88 88 51 54 53 82 90 91 90 85 85 92 45 45 41 31. Syn_sp_CC9902_SNF2 59 59 56 46 61 59 61 55 51 54 52 52 51 50 59 52 52 60 54 77 80 88 88 50 54 54 82 94 91 95 83 84 91 46 46 41 32. Syn_sp_RS9916_SNF2 59 60 56 45 59 59 60 56 50 55 53 53 52 50 58 52 51 60 53 79 81 90 90 49 55 51 83 87 94 92 92 89 85 46 46 41 33. Syn_sp_WH7805_SNF2 58 60 55 45 60 58 61 55 52 55 52 52 51 49 59 51 51 60 52 77 81 89 89 49 54 51 83 85 94 91 90 94 85 46 46 41 34. Syn_Sp_WH8102_SNF2 60 60 56 45 62 59 61 54 51 55 53 53 51 50 59 51 51 60 54 78 81 89 89 51 54 53 83 91 92 96 96 92 92 46 46 41 35. Synel_PCC6301_SNF2 63 65 58 50 63 64 66 53 52 53 54 54 51 52 65 54 57 66 56 59 59 59 59 53 56 53 62 58 60 61 61 60 60 61 99 48 36. Synel_PCC7942_SNF2 63 65 58 51 63 65 66 53 52 53 54 54 51 52 65 53 57 66 56 59 59 59 59 53 56 53 62 58 60 61 61 60 60 61 99 48 37. Theel_BP-1_SNF2 60 62 56 51 63 65 63 55 51 53 55 55 51 52 61 54 55 63 54 57 55 54 54 53 54 56 58 55 56 56 57 56 56 56 64 64

TABLE F1 MatGAT results for global similarity and identity between the ATPase domain of the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide sequences. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37  1. ATPase_Synec_SNF2 65 52 50 70 63 63 63 54 50 52 52 52 52 51 65 48 45 65 53 54 55 57 57 52 52 57 49 56 57 58 58 56 57 63 63 62  2. ATPase_Anava_SNF2 77 55 50 70 69 69 72 54 50 53 54 54 54 52 85 51 60 97 53 55 52 55 55 54 51 56 47 56 56 55 56 56 56 65 65 67  3. ATPase_Archaeon\RC-I_SNF2 70 74 51 53 56 56 56 54 50 53 56 55 53 54 56 52 37 54 55 49 49 52 52 53 54 52 44 51 52 52 52 51 51 53 53 55  4. ATPase_Bacce_ATCC10987_SNF2 67 67 72 50 49 49 50 49 51 49 49 49 46 48 50 49 35 50 50 46 46 46 46 49 50 46 38 45 46 44 47 45 45 49 49 50  5. ATPase_Crowa_SNF2 82 84 74 68 64 64 68 52 51 52 52 52 51 50 71 51 49 70 55 56 54 56 56 51 50 55 47 55 55 55 55 56 56 63 63 63  6. ATPase_Glovi_SNF2 77 82 74 69 81 99 68 52 50 53 52 52 53 51 70 52 44 68 54 53 52 55 55 52 54 54 47 54 55 56 54 54 55 61 61 64  7. ATPase_Glovi_SNF2\ 77 82 74 69 81 99 68 52 50 53 52 52 53 51 70 52 44 68 54 53 52 55 55 52 54 54 47 54 55 56 54 54 55 61 61 64  8. ATPase_Lyn_sp_SNF2 77 86 75 69 83 82 82 53 51 52 51 51 51 49 72 49 47 72 53 53 51 54 54 51 51 55 46 54 55 55 55 55 55 64 64 62  9. ATPase_Metac_C2A_SNF2 70 71 74 67 71 71 71 72 49 92 55 55 51 52 55 53 36 53 65 49 49 51 51 53 53 51 43 51 51 52 51 51 51 50 50 54 10. ATPase_Methu_JF-1_SNF2 69 70 71 69 73 70 70 70 67 48 51 51 47 48 49 49 35 50 49 43 43 45 45 50 50 43 38 43 44 44 44 44 43 50 50 52 11. ATPase_Metma_Goe1_SNF2 70 70 74 67 70 70 70 71 96 67 54 54 51 51 54 52 34 52 64 48 48 50 50 52 51 50 43 50 51 51 49 49 50 50 50 53 12. ATPase_Mycbo_SNF2 68 70 73 67 70 71 71 69 69 69 69 99 54 60 54 50 36 54 55 47 46 48 48 59 52 50 40 48 48 48 48 48 49 51 51 54 13. ATPase_Myctu_SNF2 68 70 73 67 70 71 71 69 69 69 68 99 54 60 54 49 36 54 55 47 46 48 48 59 52 50 40 48 48 48 48 48 49 51 51 54 14. ATPase_Myxxa_DK1622_SNF2 67 69 70 63 67 70 70 69 69 63 69 68 68 55 53 46 35 53 50 45 47 49 49 52 56 49 41 48 49 49 49 49 48 51 51 52 15. ATPase_Nocfa_IFM\10152_SNF2 68 69 69 65 69 70 70 66 68 65 68 73 73 67 51 49 35 52 55 46 47 49 49 75 55 49 41 49 49 48 48 49 50 50 50 52 16. ATPase_Nodsp_SNF2 77 91 76 69 85 82 82 85 71 70 71 71 71 69 70 52 58 86 53 55 53 57 57 53 52 56 47 56 57 56 56 56 56 65 65 68 17. ATPase_Nos_sp_PCC7120_SNF2\II 68 71 74 70 70 71 71 70 70 68 70 68 68 66 67 72 35 51 52 46 44 46 46 49 48 46 38 46 46 46 46 46 46 49 49 51 18. ATPase_Nospu_PCC\73102_SNF2 55 63 51 50 58 55 55 57 48 50 48 49 49 45 48 64 49 60 36 37 36 39 39 35 36 38 41 39 39 39 38 39 39 41 41 45 l9. ATPase_Nostoc_SNF2 77 99 74 67 84 82 82 85 71 69 70 70 70 69 69 92 71 63 53 55 53 55 55 53 51 55 46 56 56 55 55 56 56 65 65 66 20. ATPase_Pelph_BU-1_SNF2 70 71 72 70 73 73 73 71 79 68 79 72 72 68 71 72 70 49 71 51 52 55 55 55 56 52 45 54 54 54 53 53 54 52 52 54 21 ATPase_Proma_CCMP1375_SNF2 71 71 69 66 73 72 72 71 67 64 67 66 66 64 63 73 64 49 72 68 71 71 71 48 50 69 61 70 70 70 70 71 70 57 57 56 22. ATPase_Proma_MIT\9211_SNF2 72 70 69 63 73 72 72 72 67 63 67 67 66 63 65 72 65 48 71 69 83 74 73 47 49 69 61 72 73 72 71 72 72 56 56 54 23. ATPase_Proma_MIT\9303_SNF2 74 73 70 64 75 75 75 72 69 65 69 66 66 64 65 74 64 51 72 69 84 87 99 50 53 85 75 87 88 86 87 86 88 59 59 57 24. ATPase_Proma_MIT9313_SNF2 74 73 69 64 75 75 75 72 69 65 69 66 66 64 65 74 64 51 72 69 84 87 99 50 53 85 75 87 88 86 87 86 88 59 59 57 25. ATPase_Rho_sp_RHA1_SNF2 74 71 70 66 72 70 70 69 71 67 71 74 74 67 83 73 68 50 71 73 66 65 66 66 55 50 42 50 50 50 50 50 50 52 52 52 26. ATPase_Symth_IAM14863_SNF2 67 67 71 68 67 71 71 68 70 67 68 68 68 69 69 69 68 47 67 70 65 66 68 68 69 51 44 51 53 53 52 52 52 51 51 53 27. ATPase_Syn_sp_WH5701_SNF2 74 73 69 64 75 73 73 73 68 65 68 67 67 65 65 73 64 51 73 70 83 85 93 93 66 67 73 84 84 84 85 85 86 59 59 57 28. ATPase_Syn_sp_BL107_SNF2 64 62 60 57 66 65 65 63 58 54 58 56 55 55 57 63 55 54 62 60 73 74 81 82 59 58 80 74 79 84 75 74 79 51 51 49 29. ATPase_Syn_sp_CC9311_SNF2 74 73 69 63 74 74 74 73 68 65 68 65 65 64 65 73 64 51 73 68 84 85 94 94 65 66 91 81 87 85 91 92 88 59 59 58 30. ATPase_Syn_sp_CC9605_SNF2 74 72 71 64 74 75 75 73 69 64 69 65 65 64 66 74 64 50 72 69 85 87 93 93 67 68 91 83 83 92 88 87 95 59 59 57 31. ATPase_Syn_sp_CC9902_SNF2 74 71 70 64 75 74 74 72 69 64 69 65 64 64 66 73 65 51 71 69 84 86 93 94 66 68 91 87 92 96 87 85 92 60 60 57 32. ATPase_Syn_sp_RS9916_SNF2 74 73 69 62 74 74 74 72 69 64 69 66 65 65 64 72 65 50 72 69 84 86 94 94 66 66 91 81 96 94 93 92 88 60 60 57 33. ATPase_Syn_sp_WH\7805_SNF2 72 72 68 62 73 73 73 72 68 64 68 65 65 64 63 72 64 50 72 67 83 85 92 92 65 66 91 79 95 92 91 96 88 60 60 57 34. ATPase_Syn_sp_WH\8102_SNF2 74 72 70 63 75 75 75 73 69 64 69 66 65 64 65 73 64 50 72 69 84 87 94 94 66 68 92 84 93 97 96 94 92 59 59 56 35. ATPase_Synel_PCC6301_SNF2 75 79 70 70 78 76 76 79 67 68 67 66 66 66 67 79 69 52 78 70 73 72 74 74 66 68 74 63 74 73 73 74 73 74 99 63 36. ATPase_Synel_PCC7942_SNF2 75 79 70 70 78 76 76 79 67 68 67 66 66 66 67 79 69 52 78 70 73 72 74 74 66 68 74 63 60 73 73 74 73 74 99 48 37. ATPase_Theel_BP-1_SNF2 75 78 72 69 79 79 79 76 69 71 69 68 68 66 67 79 70 54 78 71 71 70 71 71 69 69 72 63 72 71 71 72 71 71 76 76

Example 11 Identification of Domains Comprised in Polypeptide Sequences Useful in Performing the Methods of the Invention

The Integrated Resource of Protein Families, Domains and Sites (InterPro) database is an integrated interface for the commonly used signature databases for text- and sequence-based searches. The InterPro database combines these databases, which use different methodologies and varying degrees of biological information about well-characterized proteins to derive protein signatures. Collaborating databases include SWISS-PROT, PROSITE, TrEMBL, PRINTS, ProDom and Pfam, Smart and TIGRFAMs. Interpro is hosted at the European Bioinformatics Institute in the United Kingdom.

The relevant results of the InterPro scan of the polypeptide sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30 are presented in Table G. SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides (or remodeling enzymes) share sequence similarity with helicases (particularly SF2 helicases), which are enzymes capable of catalyzing the separation of DNA strands using ATP hydrolysis. The sequence similarity is limited to the ATPase domain of both types of enzymes.

TABLE G InterPro scan results (major accession numbers) of the polypeptide sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 2. InterPro Original accession InterPro Originating accession number decription database number Accession name IPR000330 SNF2 related Pfam PF00176 SNF2_N IPR001650 Helicase, C- Pfam PF00271 Helicase_C terminal SMART SM00490 HELICc Profile PS51194 Helicase_CTER IPR014001 DEAD-like SMART SM00487 DEXDc helicases, N- terminal IPR014021 Helicase PROFILE PS51192 Helicase_ATP_BIND_1 superfamily a and 2 ATP binding

Example 12 Cloning of Nucleic Acid Sequence as Represented by SEQ ID NO: 29

Unless otherwise stated, recombinant DNA techniques are performed according to standard protocols described in (Sambrook (2001) Molecular Cloning: a laboratory manual, 3rd Edition Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, CSH, New York) or in Volumes 1 and 2 of Ausubel et al. (1994), Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Current Protocols. Standard materials and methods for plant molecular work are described in Plant Molecular Biology Labfax (1993) by R.D.D. Croy, published by BIOS Scientific Publications Ltd (UK) and Blackwell Scientific Publications (UK).

The Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 SWI2/SNF2 gene was amplified by PCR using as template Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 genomic DNA. Primers prm08774 (SEQ ID NO: 113; sense: 5′-ggggacaagtttgtacaaaaaagcaggcttaaacaatggcgactatccacggtaattgg-3′) and prm08779 (SEQ ID NO: 114; reverse, complementary: 5′-ggggaccactttgtacaagaaagctgggttcaatcggacgcttcggctt-3′), which include the AttB sites for Gateway recombination, were used for PCR amplification. PCR was performed using Hifi Taq DNA polymerase in standard conditions. A PCR fragment of the expected length (including attB sites) was amplified and purified also using standard methods. The first step of the Gateway procedure, the BP reaction, was then performed, during which the PCR fragment recombined in vivo with the pDONR201 plasmid to produce, according to the Gateway terminology, an “entry clone”. Plasmid pDONR201 was purchased from Invitrogen, as part of the Gateway® technology.

Example 13 Expression Vector Construction Using the Nucleic Acid Sequence as Represented by SEQ ID NO: 29

The entry clone comprising SEQ ID NO: 29 was subsequently used in an LR reaction with a destination vector used for Oryza sativa transformation. This vector contained as functional elements within the T-DNA borders: a plant selectable marker; a screenable marker expression cassette; and a Gateway cassette intended for LR in vivo recombination with the nucleic acid sequence of interest already cloned in the entry clone. A rice beta-expansin promoter (SEQ ID NO: 112) for expression in young expanding tissues was located upstream of this Gateway cassette.

After the LR recombination step, the resulting expression vector pExp::SWI2/SNF2 (FIG. 8) was transformed into Agrobacterium strain LBA4044 according to methods well known in the art.

Example 14 Plant Transformation

See Example 5 Above for Rice Transformation

Example 15 Phenotypic Evaluation Procedure 15.1 Evaluation Setup

Approximately 35 independent T0 rice transformants were generated. The primary transformants were transferred from a tissue culture chamber to a greenhouse for growing and harvest of T1 seed. Six events, of which the T1 progeny segregated 3:1 for presence/absence of the transgene, were retained. For each of these events, approximately 10 T1 seedlings containing the transgene (hetero- and homo-zygotes) and approximately 10 T1 seedlings lacking the transgene (nullizygotes) were selected by monitoring visual marker expression. The transgenic plants and the corresponding nullizygotes were grown side-by-side at random positions. Greenhouse conditions were of shorts days (12 hours light), 28° C. in the light and 22° C. in the dark, and a relative humidity of 70%.

Five T1 events were further evaluated in the T2 generation following the same evaluation procedure as for the T1 generation but with more individuals per event. From the stage of sowing until the stage of maturity the plants were passed several times through a digital imaging cabinet. At each time point digital images (2048×1536 pixels, 16 million colours) were taken of each plant from at least 6 different angles.

Drought Screen

Plants from five events (T2 seeds) were grown in potting soil under normal conditions until they approached the heading stage. They were then transferred to a “dry” section where irrigation was withheld. Humidity probes were inserted in randomly chosen pots to monitor the soil water content (SWC). When SWC went below certain thresholds, the plants were automatically re-watered continuously until a normal level was reached again. The plants were then re-transferred again to normal conditions. The rest of the cultivation (plant maturation, seed harvest) was the same as for plants not grown under abiotic stress conditions. Growth and yield parameters are recorded as detailed for growth under normal conditions.

Salt Stress Screen

The rice plants are grown on a substrate made of coco fibers and argex (3 to 1 ratio). A normal nutrient solution is used during the first two weeks after transplanting the plantlets in the greenhouse. After the first two weeks, 25 mM of salt (NaCl) is added to the nutrient solution comprising the components listed below.

-   -   NPK Nutrient mix, 20-20-20 Peters professional (Scotts,         Marysville, Ohio, USA) at a concentration of 1 kg/m³.     -   Magnesium chelate, Chelal Mg (BMS, Bornem, Belgium) at 333.33         ml/m³     -   Iron chelate, Libfer (CIBA, Bradford, UK) at 21.67 g/m³     -   NaCl 1.425 kg/m3

Salt concentration is monitored on a weekly basis and additions are made where necessary. Plants are grown under these conditions until the start of grain filling. They are then transferred to a different compartment of the greenhouse where they are irrigated daily with fresh water until seed harvest. Growth and yield parameters are recorded as for growth under normal conditions.

Reduced Nutrient (Nitrogen) Availability Screen

The rice plants are grown in potting soil under normal conditions except for the nutrient solution. The pots are watered from transplantation to maturation with a specific nutrient solution containing reduced N nitrogen (N) content, usually between 7 to 8 times less. The rest of the cultivation (plant maturation, seed harvest) is the same as for plants not grown under abiotic stress. Growth and yield parameters are recorded as for growth under normal conditions.

15.2 Statistical Analysis: F-Test

A two factor ANOVA (analysis of variants) was used as a statistical model for the overall evaluation of plant phenotypic characteristics. An F-test was carried out on all the parameters measured of all the plants of all the events transformed with the gene of the present invention. The F-test was carried out to check for an effect of the gene over all the transformation events and to verify for an overall effect of the gene, also known as a global gene effect. The threshold for significance for a true global gene effect was set at a 5% probability level for the F-test. A significant F-test value points to a gene effect, meaning that it is not only the mere presence or position of the gene that is causing the differences in phenotype.

15.3 Parameters Measured

Biomass-Related Parameter Measurement

From the stage of sowing until the stage of maturity the plants were passed several times through a digital imaging cabinet. At each time point digital images (2048×1536 pixels, 16 million colours) were taken of each plant from at least 6 different angles.

The plant aboveground area (or leafy biomass) was determined by counting the total number of pixels on the digital images from aboveground plant parts discriminated from the background. This value was averaged for the pictures taken on the same time point from the different angles and was converted to a physical surface value expressed in square mm by calibration. Experiments show that the aboveground plant area measured this way correlates with the biomass of plant parts above ground. The above ground area is the area measured at the time point at which the plant had reached its maximal leafy biomass. The early vigor is the plant (seedling) aboveground area three weeks post-germination.

To measure root-related parameters, plants were grown in specially designed pots with transparent bottoms to allow visualization of the roots. A digital camera recorded images through the bottom of the pot during plant growth. Increase in root biomass is expressed as an increase in total root biomass (measured as maximum biomass of roots observed during the lifespan of a plant); or as an increase in the root/shoot index (measured as the ratio between root mass and shoot mass in the period of active growth of root and shoot). Furthermore, the maximum biomass of roots above a certain thickness threshold observed during the lifespan of a plant is calculated (thick roots), as well as maximum biomass of roots below a certain thickness threshold (thin roots).

Seed-Related Parameter Measurements

The mature primary panicles were harvested, counted, bagged, barcode-labelled and then dried for three days in an oven at 37° C. The panicles were then threshed and all the seeds were collected and counted. The filled husks were separated from the empty ones using an air-blowing device. The empty husks were discarded and the remaining fraction was counted again. The filled husks were weighed on an analytical balance. The number of filled seeds was determined by counting the number of filled husks that remained after the separation step. The total seed weight per plant was measured by weighing all filled husks harvested from one plant. Total seed number per plant was measured by counting the number of husks harvested from a plant. Thousand Kernel Weight (TKW) is extrapolated from the number of filled seeds counted and their total weight. The Harvest Index (HI) in the present invention is defined as the ratio between the total seed weight per plant and the above ground area (mm²), multiplied by a factor 10⁶. The total number of flowers per panicle as defined in the present invention is the ratio between the total number of seeds and the number of mature primary panicles. The seed fill rate as defined in the present invention is the proportion (expressed as a %) of the number of filled seeds over the total number of seeds (or florets).

Example 16 Results of the Phenotypic Evaluation of the Transgenic Rice Plants Expressing the SWI2/SNF2 Nucleic Acid Sequence, Grown Under Normal Conditions

The results of the evaluation of transgenic rice plants expressing the SWI2/SNF2 nucleic acid sequence, under normal growth conditions, are shown in Table H below.

There was an increase in the number of flowers per panicle, the total seed weight per plant, the total number of seeds, the number of filled seeds, and the harvest index of the transgenics compared to corresponding nullizygotes (controls).

TABLE H Results of the evaluation of transgenic rice plants expressing the SWI2/SNF2 nucleic acid sequence, under normal growth conditions. Average % increase of Average % increase of best performing events best performing events in T1 generation in T2 generation Number of flowers per 11% 3% panicle Total seed weight per 13% 28% plant Total number of seeds 14% 6% Number of filled seeds 14% 25% Harvest index 10% 25%

Example 17 Results of the Phenotypic Evaluation of the Transgenic Rice Plants, Grown Under Drought Stress Conditions

The results of the evaluation of transgenic rice plants expressing SWI2/SNF2 nucleic acid sequence, under drought stress growth conditions are presented in Table I.

There was an increase in the aboveground area, the total root biomass, the number of flowers per panicle, the seed fill rate, the total seed weight per plant, the total number of seeds, the number of filled seeds, and the harvest index of the transgenics compared to corresponding nullizygotes (controls).

TABLE I Results of the evaluation of transgenic rice plants expressing the SWI2/SNF2 nucleic acid sequence, under drought stress growth conditions. Average % increase of best performing events in T2 generation Aboveground area 16% Total root biomass 13% Biomass thick roots 10% Biomass thin roots 13% Number of flowers per panicle 7% Seed fill rate 28% Total seed weight per plant 57% Total number of seeds 44% Number of filled seeds 54% Harvest index 31%

Example 18 Examples of Transformation of Corn, Alfalfa, Cotton, Soyabean, Rapeseed/Canola, Wheat

See Example 5 Above 

1. A method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants relative to control plants, comprising modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide comprising: 23) in increasing order of preference, at least 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or more sequence identity to the HpaG polypeptide sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 2; and 24) an amino acid composition wherein the glycine content ranges between 13% and 25%, the glutamine content ranges between 13% and 20%, the cysteine content ranges between 0% and 1%, the histidine content ranges between 0% and 1%, and wherein tryptophan is absent.
 2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said HpaG polypeptide further comprises one or more of the following motifs: (i) (motif 1): G(G/E/D)(N/E)X(Q/R/P)Q(A/S)GX(N/D)G (SEQ ID NO: 3), wherein X on position 4 may be any amino acid, preferably one of S, N, P, R, or Q, and wherein X on position 9 may be any amino acid, preferably one of Q, E, S, or P; and (ii) (motif 2): (P/A/V)S(P/Q/A)(F/L/Y)TQ(M/A)LM(H/N/Q)IV(G/M)(E/D/Q) (SEQ ID NO: 4),
 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said modulated expression is effected by introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide.
 4. Method according to any preceding claim, wherein said nucleic acid encoding an Hpag polypeptide is represented by any one of the nucleic acids listed in Table A or a portion thereof, or a sequence capable of hybridising with any one of the nucleic acids given in Table A.
 5. Method according to any preceding claim, wherein said nucleic acid sequence encodes an orthologue or paralogue of any of the proteins given in Table A.
 6. Method according to any preceding claim, wherein said enhanced yield-related traits comprise increased yield, preferably increased biomass and/or increased seed yield relative to control plants.
 7. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said enhanced yield-related traits are obtained under non-stress conditions.
 8. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said enhanced yield-related traits are obtained under abiotic stress conditions.
 9. Method according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein said nucleic acid is operably linked to a constitutive promoter, preferably to a GOS2 promoter, most preferably to a GOS2 promoter from rice.
 10. Method according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein said nucleic acid is operably linked to a green tissue-specific promoter, preferably to a protochlorophyllide reductase promoter, most preferably to a protochlorophyllide reductase promoter from rice.
 11. Method according to any preceding claim, wherein said nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide is of prokaryotic origin, preferably from a plant pathogenic bacterium possessing a Type Three Secretion System (TTSS), further preferably from the family Pseudomonaceae, more preferably from the genus Xanthomonas, most preferably from Xanthomonas axonopodis.
 12. Plant or part thereof, including seeds, obtainable by a method according to any preceding claim, wherein said plant or part thereof comprises a recombinant nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide.
 13. Construct comprising: (a) nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined in claim 1 or 2; (b) one or more control sequences capable of driving expression of the nucleic acid sequence of (a); and optionally (c) a transcription termination sequence.
 14. Construct according to claim 13, wherein said one of said control sequences is selected from: (i) a constitutive promoter, preferably a GOS2 promoter, most preferably to a GOS2 promoter from rice; or (ii) a green tissue-specific promoter, preferably a protochlorophyllide reductase promoter, most preferably a protochlorophyllide reductase promoter from rice.
 15. Use of a construct according to claim 13 or 14 in a method for making plants having increased yield, particularly increased biomass and/or increased seed yield relative to control plants.
 16. Plant, plant part or plant cell transformed with a construct according to any of claim 13 or
 14. 17. Method for the production of a transgenic plant having increased yield, particularly increased biomass and/or increased seed yield relative to control plants, comprising: (i) introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined in claim 1 or 2; and (ii) cultivating the plant cell under conditions promoting plant growth and development.
 18. Transgenic plant having increased yield, particularly increased biomass and/or increased seed yield, relative to control plants, resulting from increased expression of a nucleic acid encoding an HpaG polypeptide as defined in claim 1 or 2, or a transgenic plant cell derived from said transgenic plant.
 19. Transgenic plant according to claim 12, 16 or 18, or a transgenic plant cell derived thereof, wherein said plant is a crop plant or a monocot or a cereal, such as rice, maize, wheat, barley, millet, rye, sorghum and oats.
 20. Harvestable parts of a plant according to claim 19, wherein said harvestable parts are preferably seeds.
 21. Products derived from a plant according to claim 19 and/or from harvestable parts of a plant according to claim
 18. 22. Use of a nucleic acid encoding HpaG polypeptide in increasing yield, particularly in increasing seed yield, in plants relative to control plants.
 23. A method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants relative to control plants, comprising increasing expression in a plant of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWITCH 2/SUCROSE NON-FERMENTING 2 (SWI2/SNF2) polypeptide, which SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide comprises an ATPase domain comprising from N-terminus to C-terminus at least five, preferably six, more preferably seven, most preferably eight of the following motifs: (i) Motif I LADDMGLGK(T/S), as represented by SEQ ID NO: 103 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif I; (ii) Motif Ia L(L/V/I)(V/I/L)(A/C)P(T/M/V)S(V/I/L)(V/I/L)XNW, as represented by SEQ ID NO: 104 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif Ia; (iii) Motif II DEAQ(N/A/H)(V/I/L)KN, as represented by SEQ ID NO: 105 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif II; (iv) Motif III A(L/M)TGTPXEN, as represented by SEQ ID NO: 106 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif III; (v) Motif IV (L/I)XF(T/S)Q(F/Y), as represented by SEQ ID NO: 107 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif IV; (vi) Motif V S(L/V)KAGG(V/T/L)G(L/I)(N/T)LTXA(N/S/T)HV, as represented by SEQ ID NO: 108 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif V; (vii) Motif Va DRWWNPAVE, as represented by SEQ ID NO: 109 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif Va; and (viii) Motif VI QA(T/S)DR(A/T/V)(F/Y)R(I/L)GQ, as represented by SEQ ID NO: 110 or a motif having in increasing order of preference at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the sequence of Motif VI, where X in Motif Ia, Motif III, Motif IV, and Motif V, is any amino acid.
 24. Method according to claim 23, wherein said SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide, when used in the construction of a phylogenetic tree, such as the one depicted in FIG. 7, tends to cluster with the SSO1653 clade of SWI2/SNF2 polypeptides comprising the polypeptide sequence as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30 rather than with any other SWI2/SNF2 clade.
 25. Method according to claim 23 or 24, wherein said SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide comprises an ATPase domain having in increasing order of preference at least 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the ATPase domain as represented by SEQ ID NO: 111, comprised in SEQ ID NO:
 30. 26. Method according to any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein said SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide has in increasing order of preference at least 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% or more sequence identity to the SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as represented by SEQ ID NO: 30 or to any of the polypeptide sequences given in Table E herein.
 27. Method according to any one of claims 23 to 26, wherein said nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide is represented by any one of the nucleic acid sequence SEQ ID NOs given in Table E or a portion thereof, or a sequence capable of hybridising with any one of the nucleic acid sequences SEQ ID NOs given in Table E.
 28. Method according to any one of claims 23 to 27, wherein said nucleic acid sequence encodes an orthologue or paralogue of any of the SEQ ID NOs given in Table E.
 29. Method according to any one of claims 23 to 28, wherein said increased expression is effected by introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide.
 30. Method according to any one of claims 23 to 29, wherein said yield-related traits are one or more of: (i) increased number of flowers per panicle; (ii) increased total seed weight per plant; (iii) increased number of (filled) seeds; or (iv) increased harvest index.
 31. Method according to any one of claims 23 to 30, wherein said yield-related traits are enhanced in plants grown under abiotic stress conditions, preferably under water stress conditions, most preferably under drought stress conditions, relative to control plants grown under comparable stress conditions.
 32. Method according to claim 31, wherein said enhanced yield-related traits are one or more of: (i) increased aboveground area; (ii) increased total root biomass; (iii) increased thick root biomass; (iv) increased thin root biomass; (v) increased number of flowers per panicle; (vi) increased seed fill rate; (vii) increased total seed weight per plant; (viii) increased number of (filled) seeds; or (ix) increased harvest index.
 33. Method according to any one of claims 23 to 32, wherein said nucleic acid sequence is operably linked to a tissue-specific promoter, preferably to a promoter capable of preferentially expressing the nucleic acid sequence in young expanding tissues, most preferably to a beta-expansin promoter.
 34. Method according to any one of claims 23 to 33, wherein said nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide is from a microbial genome, further preferably from archea or bacteria, more preferably from cyanobacteria, such as Synechocystis sp., Nostoc sp., Synechococcus sp., Prochlorococcus sp., Anaebena sp., Gloeobacter sp., or Thermosynechococcus sp., more preferably from Synechocystis sp., most preferably from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803.
 35. Plants, parts thereof (including seeds), or plant cells obtainable by a method according to any one of claims 23 to 34, wherein said plant, part or cell thereof comprises an isolated nucleic acid transgene encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide.
 36. Construct comprising: (a) A nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined in any one of claims 23 to 28; (b) one or more control sequences capable of driving expression of the nucleic acid sequence of (a); and optionally (c) a transcription termination sequence.
 37. Construct according to claim 36, wherein said one of said control sequences is a tissue-specific promoter, preferably a promoter for expression in young expanding tissues, most preferably a beta-expansin promoter.
 38. Use of a construct according to claim 36 or 37 in a method for making plants having enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants.
 39. Plant, plant part or plant cell transformed with a construct according to claim 36 or
 37. 40. Method for the production of transgenic plants having enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants, comprising: (i) introducing and expressing in a plant a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined in any one of claims 23 to 28; and (ii) cultivating the plant cell under conditions promoting plant growth and development.
 41. Transgenic plant having enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants, resulting from increased expression of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined in any one of claims 23 to 28, or a transgenic plant cell derived from said transgenic plant.
 42. Transgenic plant according to claim 35, 39 or 41, wherein said plant is a crop plant or a monocot or a cereal, such as rice, maize, wheat, barley, millet, rye, triticale, sorghum and oats, or a transgenic plant cell derived from said transgenic plant.
 43. Harvestable parts of a plant according to claim 42, wherein said harvestable parts are preferably seeds.
 44. Products derived from a plant according to claim 42 and/or from harvestable parts of a plant according to claim
 43. 45. Use of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined in any one of claims 23 to 28 in enhancing yield-related traits in plants, preferably in increasing one or more of: (i) increased number of flowers per panicle; (ii) increased total seed weight per plant; (iii) increased number of (filled) seeds; or (iv) increased harvest index.
 46. Use of a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SWI2/SNF2 polypeptide as defined in any one of claims 23 to 28 in enhancing yield-related traits in plants, wherein said yield-related traits are enhanced in plants grown under abiotic stress conditions, preferably under water stress conditions, most preferably under drought stress conditions, relative to control plants grown under comparable stress conditions.
 47. Use of a nucleic acid sequence according to claim 45, wherein said enhanced yield-related traits are one or more of: (i) increased aboveground area; (ii) increased total root biomass; (iii) increased thick root biomass; (iv) increased thin root biomass; (v) increased number of flowers per panicle; (vi) increased seed fill rate; (vii) increased total seed weight per plant; (viii) increased number of (filled) seeds; or (ix) increased harvest index. 